China no match for Johnson ’17 and Team USA

Early Thursday morning, Ashleigh Johnson ’17 and the U.S. women’s water polo team routed China by a score of 12-4. The victory was yet another display of Johnson’s phenomenal defensive abilities as goalkeeper.

Just minutes into the game, it was clear that the U.S. held a dominant advantage over their Chinese counterparts. Though China had scored 11 points in a loss to Hungary earlier, the same team struggled just to get a single point on the board. Meanwhile, the U.S. offense was firing on all cylinders. By the final whistle, Maddie Musselman and Maggie Steffens had each scored four goals, equaling the entire Chinese team.

At the same time, the U.S. defense has proven to be a consistent brick wall for opponents. In an interview with NBC Olympics, Johnson described herself and the 2-meter defense as the final stopping point. Today, the lone East Coast player on the team backed her words with action, saving 11 of 15 shots on goal.

In comparison, it is the team’s defense that distinguishes the group from the remaining field of competition. Though other teams have scored similarly high games, no other country has held their opponent to fewer points than the U.S.

Looking ahead, Johnson and Team USA will take on Hungary on Saturday before advancing to the single-elimination quarterfinals next week.