Article by Les Carpenter, courtesy of The Washington Post.
NANTERRE, France — The end of a dynasty came as these things often do, in a heartbreaking instant. As U.S. women’s water polo star Maddie Musselman’s final shootout penalty shot was knocked away Thursday night, the Americans sat in silent disbelief.
Around them, the Australian players were jumping out of the water, running to the stands, screaming and hugging. The scoreboard said the United States had lost this semifinal, 14-13, but after winning three straight Olympic golds, the defeat felt like a much harder punch. A streak stretching back to London 2012 was suddenly broken.
As the Americans passed through the interview area between the pool at La Defense Arena and their locker room, many of them said little. They moved quickly, their faces blank, like the moment still wasn’t real.
“I mean, [the streak] was fantastic, but this is about this team, and even through the loss we’re not going to celebrate the last three,” U.S. Coach Adam Krikorian said. “Who does that? I don’t want to be around anyone who celebrates the last three championships as we’ve had hearts broken out there.”
He paused. Behind him, happy Australian players headed toward their locker room. A small group of flies buzzed around his head. He barely noticed them.
“This is a tough loss, but we’ll take it like the grown-ups we are, and I think we’ll be better because of it,” he continued. “Maybe not better water polo players, but we’ll learn from it as people and be better human beings.”
He was followed by Ashleigh Johnson, the goalkeeper who carried the United States through the past two Olympic titles. She talked about missed chances, about the couple of shots that tipped off her fingers in the shootout where the first five shooters from each team scored before Musselman’s miss.
“This game is a game of growth,” she said.
The U.S. team had missed many chances Thursday. It had a 5-2 advantage at halftime and led 7-6 at the end of the third quarter. Yet it couldn’t get the shot it needed at just the right time. The loss came before the end of regulation, many of the players said, not in the penalty shots.
After the Australians had all walked to their celebration, Musselman appeared in the hallway where Krikorian and Johnson had stood. She said she was “a little speechless but wouldn’t be discouraged.” She shrugged at the missed shot, saying “sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.” Mostly, she smiled and talked about the “honor” of being able to play for a bronze medal Saturday.
Musselman has been one of the U.S. team’s best players, the MVP of the Tokyo Olympics and the one who scored two of the Americans first three goals Thursday. In the Olympics stands has been her husband, Patrick Woepse, who, like Musselman, was a water polo player at UCLA. Last year, he was diagnosed with NUT carcinoma, an aggressive lung cancer that had reached Stage 4. They married days after he found out.
As Musselman absorbed the loss, she smiled and kept looking ahead.
“I’ve been through a lot outside of sport right now, so it’s been easy to have that perspective for myself,” she said. “Maybe hard for some other people on my team, but life is precious for me right now. And so, for me, like, a loss right now …”
Her voice caught. The smile dropped.
“… is obviously hard, but [we’re] moving forward,” she finished.
Then she quickly moved down the corridor, far away from the cruelest of nights at the end of a dynasty.
