By Will Baxley on SwimSwam
For the second time in a row, the Netherlands emerged as the European Champions in women’s water polo. Yesterday, the Dutch women held off their Hungarian rivals in a nailbiter championship final that came down to a shootout.
The gold medal game culminated nearly two weeks of play among 16 European Aquatics nations on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Hungary started off the final on the right foot, establishing a 3-1 lead in the first quarter. Their Dutch counterparts rose to the challenge in the second quarter, scoring 4 points to their opponent’s 1. Both teams netted another two in the third quarter before amping up the action in the last quarter, with Hungary scoring four and the Netherlands three.
The 10-10 score at the buzzer meant that the final would be decided in shootouts. Simone Van de Kraats, the game’s eventual MVP, showed out for the Netherlands in the tiebreaker, as did Maxine Schaap and Lola Mulhuijsen. Dutch goalie Laura Aarts also played a key role in her country’s gold medal repeat, as she blocked Hungarian Rita Keszthelyi’s penalty in the second round of shots which sealed the deal.
This win builds on The Netherlands’ women’s water polo success on the continent level. The country has appeared in five of the last seven European Championship finals, striking gold in three of them. Since the tournament’s start in 1985, the Dutch women have won seven golds and 14 medals in the biennial tournament.
Greece, the reigning World Champions, lost out at a shot of gold in a shootout against Hungary in the semifinals. However, they still managed to podium by handily taking down Italy in the bronze medal match, 15-8. Eleni Xenaki of Greece was named MVP of the bronze medal match.
European Aquatics named Aarts and Van de Kraats to the tournament’s MVP team following the Netherlands’ victory. Joining them on the team were Maria Myriokefalitaki (GRE), Rita Keszthelyi (HUN), Krisztina Garda (HUN), Kitty Lynn Joustra (NED) and Eleni Xenaki (GRE). The tournament’s highest scorer was Bea Ortiz, who led Spain to a 5th place finish with 25 points along the way.
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