Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
BEIJING - AUGUST 16: Head coach Terry Schroeder of the Unites States talks to his team during a time out during their water polo match against Croatia at the Ying Tung Natatorium on Day 8 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 16, 2008 in Beijing, Ch
BEIJING (AP) Tony Azevedo scored three goals and the Americans used stifling defense to upset world No. 1 Croatia 7-5 in Olympic preliminary play Saturday, the most significant U.S. men's water polo victory in two decades.
But the victory, the most surprising of the week at Yingdong Natatorium, could be meaningless if the U.S. doesn't beat Germany on Monday. If the Americans do win, they would earn a spot in the quarterfinals and would have an outside shot at advancing directly to the semifinals.
The United States (3-1) never trailed against the mustachioed Croats (3-1), getting an early power-play goal from Azevedo, building a three-goal lead in the second quarter and holding on down the stretch.
"It's huge," U.S. coach Terry Schroeder said. "They were playing as well as anyone here. To beat them, I think upstairs is where these guys have needed to improve the most over the last couple of years. They've got to know now that if they play like that, they can win this thing. They honestly can win this thing. It's a huge boost, but it doesn't mean anything unless we win Monday."
Tim Hutten, Ryan Bailey, Peter Varellas and Adam Wright also scored for the U.S., which held the Croatians to 0-for-15 shooting from the 5-meter mark. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses stopped 11 of 16 shots.
When it was over, the Americans celebrated in the pool much longer than usual - savoring every second of the victory.
"I've been waiting for that one for a while," Moses said.
In other games Saturday, two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Hungary blew most of a five-goal lead before hanging on to beat Australia 13-12. The Hungarians (3-0-1) clinched a spot in the next round. So did Spain (3-1), which beat Montenegro (2-1-1) 12-6.
Montenegro and Australia will play for the final spot in Group A on Monday.
Serbia (3-1) also advanced with a 15-5 victory over host China (0-4). The Serbs got nine goals from Aleksandar Sapic. Germany (2-2) beat Italy (1-3) 8-7 to stay alive, and Greece (1-3) defeated Canada (0-4) 13-7 in a matchup of previously winless clubs.
The Canadians played without coach Dragan Jovanovic, who served a one-game suspension following his ejection from Thursday's match against Australia. Jovanovic watched from the top row of the stands.
The Americans came to Beijing as long shots to return to the medal stand for the first time since 1988.
But the players' confidence grew with victories against China and Italy. They found even more hope in a 4-2 loss to Serbia two days ago. The U.S. had several chances to upset the Serbs, but Azevedo was 0-for-8 shooting, including a missed penalty shot.
"Tony's one of the best players in the world," Schroeder said. "Serbia really shut him down and he came out with something to prove today. He came out with a little fire in his eyes and did a great job for us, found those holes and was able to put the ball away."
Azevedo scored the team's first two goals Saturday, both in extra-man situations. His third was the most impressive.
He propelled his upper body out of the water, and with two defenders in his face, swayed to the left and zipped the ball past four flailing arms and the goalie. His acrobatic goal made it 6-4 with about 5 minutes to play.
Maro Jokovic pulled the Croats within one, 6-5, with 2:17 remaining. But Bailey's power-play goal from the right wing with 1:33 left gave the Americans the cushion they needed to hang on from there.
"We came into this tournament and knew we had the capabilities of beating everyone," Azevedo said. "This really showed that that game (against Serbia) was a fluke and we're a gold-medal-contention team."
The Croats - who grew their mustaches out as a sign of team unity - were the consensus pick to win gold in Beijing, and looked every bit the part in their first three games. They beat Italy, Serbia and Germany by a combined 15 goals.
Players talked like it was a foregone conclusion they would win Group B and earn an automatic spot in the semifinals.
"Us and Serbia are a bit better than the U.S.A," Croatian captain Zdeslav Vrdoljak said earlier in the week. "They probably will be the third team in our group."
The top three teams in each group advance, with the winner going straight to the semifinals.
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