Water polo team ties Italy

Brenda Villa of Commerce had two goals and Patty Cardenas, also from Commerce, added a goal in a 9-9 tie against Italy in water polo.
Villa scored one goal in the third quarter and again in the fourth. Her goal in the fourth gave the U.S. a 7-6 lead.
"I thought it was going to be a tight game, a one goal game or a tie and it was exactly that," said U.S. coach Guy Baker. "This game we had more balance in the number of players scoring, we had seven players score nine goals. Overall I thought we played well, after the first quarter we played well enough to win."
Next up for the United States is a match with Russia on Friday. The United States remains in contention for winning Group A.
"We'll prepare for (Russia) exactly the same way we prepare for every game," Baker said. "I'm sure they are going to come to play, while it is great for China to defeat them, it is sad for Russia that they will not be able to move on. I'm sure it will be a great game."