Paige Hauschild during Saturday’s Game.Photo: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
In just under an hour, Team USA’s women’s water polo team proved why they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Team captain Maggie Steffens, 28, scored the first goal in the match and ended it with five total. Of the nine Team USA players to score, Madeline Musselman and Aria Fischer also each had four goals.
Still, the women are always focused on what they can improve — especially before facing their next Group B opponent, China on Monday.
“Our focus was a little bit off,” Steffens tells PEOPLE while speaking with reporters at the match. “And I think just re-harnessing that focus, especially in the beginning of the game. I also think we could have been sharper on defense just with our connections on passes. And some of our shots were just a little bit off.”
Maggie Steffens.Marcel ter Bals/BSR Agency/Getty Images
Steffens says “really fortunate” that her “entire family” and boyfriend are staying in a house together back in the states in Denver, Colorado. She said despite the early morning hours, her loved ones were awake to watch the game.
Luckily, that means she doesn’t have to call just one person to call to celebrate Saturday’s victory.
“I know all of them are going to be on that FaceTime, really excited,” she says. “I could feel their energy. … So almost like you can hear them without them actually being here. And you could tell that our team felt that as well today.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
