Adrian Weinberg made two crucial saves during a penalty shootout to help the United States defeat Australia 11-10 on Wednesday in the men’s water polo quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics.
In the game, Hannes Daube and Alex Bowen each scored twice during regular play, helping the U.S. reach the semifinals for the first time since 2008. Both Daube and Bowen also scored in the penalty shootout.
“It was exhausting,” said U.S. attacker Marko Vavic. “We were both fighting hard for our country, each trying to reach the semifinal. It’s something we’ve dreamed about since we were kids. Everyone gave their all.”
This win was the third in a row for the U.S., which will face Serbia on Friday at the Paris La Defense Arena. Serbia is aiming to win its third consecutive Olympic gold medal.
In the other semifinal, Croatia will play Hungary. Croatia won 10-8 against Spain, while Hungary defeated Italy 12-10 in another penalty shootout.
Serbia advanced to the semifinals when captain Nikola Jaksic scored a decisive goal with 3 seconds left, securing a 12-11 win over Greece.
“We finally played like the team that came here to win,” Jaksic said. “We fought until the very end.”
Greece’s Angelos Vlachopoulos had just equalized the game with 6 seconds remaining.
“I really hope this is just a bad dream and I’ll wake up to play again,” Greece’s Dimitrios Skoumpakis said. “Everyone on this team gave their best. We worked hard, but this is the sport.”
The U.S. bounced back from a difficult first quarter, where Max Irving had a goal disallowed after a video review and U.S. attacker Johnny Hooper was penalized with a brutality foul, which took him out for the rest of the game.