Greece Beats Australia in Women’s Water Polo World Cup Qualifiers

In a hard-fought battle at the Women’s Water Polo World Cup qualifiers, the Aussie Stingers faced a tough defeat against Greece, losing 12-8 on Saturday.

The game occurred in front of a packed crowd at the municipal swimming pool in Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, where the Greek national team, under new head coach Haris Pavlidis, celebrated their victory. The Greeks gained the upper hand in the second quarter, leaving Australia trailing 7-4 and unable to recover.

Australia fought hard, with Paris Olympic silver medalist Sienna Hearn scoring the first goal 30 seconds into the game. Fellow medalist Abby Andrews added two goals, bringing the scores to 3-3 at the end of the first quarter. Emma Putt scored her first international goal in the second quarter, while two-time Olympian Bronte Halligan (NSWIS) added another, closing the gap to 5-7 at halftime.

Despite strong performances from Alice Williams and Pippa Pedley, who scored in the third quarter, Australia couldn't narrow the gap. Greece continued its strong run in the third and fourth quarters, winning 12-8.

With Greece leading 10-6 heading into the final quarter, centre Dani Jackovich (NSWIS) scored a goal to reduce the deficit to two, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win.

Greece will face Spain, another powerhouse in women’s water polo and the gold medalists at the Paris Olympics, on Sunday, January 19, at 7:00 p.m. EET in the last match of the qualifiers.

Australia will play one more match against the Netherlands at 2 a.m. AEDT is aiming to improve its final ranking ahead of the World Cup Super Final in April.