An early battle between medal contenders in the 2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo tournament has gone to the United States.
Maggie Steffens scored three goals on Friday evening - all three during a critical stretch of play in the middle of the contest - to lead Team USA to a 7-6 win over China on Friday evening in London at the Water Polo Arena, a temporary facility constructed specifically for these Olympic Games.
U.S. goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong made six saves for the Americans, who also got goals from Kelly Rulon, Annika Dries, Brenda Villa and Elsie Windes to overcome a Chinese side that was led by Ma Huanhuan and Sun Yating with two goals apiece.
The U.S. struggled early in the contest, as China scored three of the first four goals, including the lone score during the first quarter. The tide began to turn approaching halftime, however, as Steffens found the back of the net for her first score of the day.
In the third quarter, Steffens sandwiched her second and third tallies around a score by Dries, and Villa followed to give the Americans a 6-3 lead, the largest either team would enjoy. China came on strong over the remainder of the game, coming within one on two separate occasions, but the U.S. held strong to preserve the victory.
The win tied the U.S. with Spain atop Group A with a 2-0-1 record and five points, but Spain secured the top seed on goal differential, and will face Great Britain in Sunday's quarterfinals. The U.S., meanwhile, will face Hungary, the third-place finisher in Group B, with Russia vs. Hungary and Australia vs. China the remaining matchups.
Before the Games, Sports Illustrated picked the Australians to win gold, followed by the U.S. and China.
