Josh Samuels (Villa Park) and Luca Cupido (Newport Harbor) each scored three goals and Merrill Moses made 17 saves Wednesday as the Rio Olympics-bound U.S. men’s water polo team defeated Brazil, 11-9, in Toronto for its sixth straight Pan American Games title.
Bret Bonanni (Mater Dei) added two goals for Team USA, which led, 10-8, going into the fourth period.
Bonanni led the U.S. team in scoring at the Pan American Games with 18 goals, second-highest in the tournament.
The U.S. women also claimed gold at the Pan American Games with a 13-4 victory against Canada but face Olympic qualification in 2016. Maggie Steffens led the U.S. squad in scoring at the tournament with 15 goals, one ahead of Courtney Mathewson (Canyon).
Maddie Musselman (Corona del Mar) delivered a strong tournament, finishing with nine goals. Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach) had 10 goals.
Photo courtesy of USA Water Polo
