Not just one, but two San Marcos athletes competed for the United States’ U18 National Water Polo team last month. Senior Lucy Haaland-Ford and Junior Charlotte Raisin joined the defending champion United States as they traveled to the 2024 Women’s U18 Water Polo Championships in Chengdu, China.
The United States were placed in Group B, set to play against third-ranked Hungary, sixth-placed Australia, and eighth-ranked New Zealand.
Opening up their pool play on a strong note, they beat Hungary in a penalty shootout, 13-12. This was largely due to San Marcos’ Haaland-Ford who as captain of the U18 National team was making big plays the whole game, even being the one to push the U.S. to victory with her final shot in the rotation.
After a battle to begin the game, the water was clear for Team USA for the rest of the preliminary matches. Raisin added two goals in a 16-12 win against Australia, and after trouncing New Zealand 12-6, they were looking as dangerous as ever, heading undefeated into the quarterfinals.
In their quarterfinal game against the Netherlands, the atmosphere was tense for Team USA as Netherlands jumped out to an early lead. If not for 805 athletes Raisin and Haaland-Ford, the game could have played out far differently. The two sparked the U.S.A. scoring, as well as grabbing three saves apiece, both being named the Match Heroes of the match.
Unfortunately, they had met their match in the semi-finals against Greece. Despite some strong play early in the semifinal game, Greece’s last quarter would prove to be too strong, knocking the U.S. down to the third place game. However, Raisin was not to be denied, as she still managed to find the back of the net twice in the 8-13 loss.
A heartbreaking 13-14 loss to Hungary sent the United States home on a sour note, but that was not due to the play of Haaland-Ford and Raisin. The two were making plays left and right, each chipping in with goals in that final match.
“It was a great experience” remarked Raisin, “The best teams in the world are there, and it’s pretty much all we train for. It’s the biggest tournament there is.”
It is not every day that someone from your physics class is gone from school, playing a sport for the very same country you live in. If you are looking to see some high level water polo, come out and watch the San Marcos girls team this winter!
