Cal at the Olympics: USA's Johnny Hooper, Luca Cupido Lose in Men's Water Polo
Former Cal standout Luca Cupido scored an important fourth-period goal for the United States, but it was not enough as the USA was eliminated from medal competition in men’s water polo with a 12-8 loss to Spain in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday (Tuesday night in California).
With the loss in this knock-out round match, the U.S. team will face Italy in a loser’s bracket semifinal on Friday at 2:20 a.m. Pacific time. The best the Americans can hope for is a fifth-place finish.
Cupido and Johnny Hooper, who were teammates on Cal’s 2016 national championship team, were starters for the American team in the quarterfinals against Spain.
Cupido attempted only two shots, and his lone goal came with 5:06 left in the fourth quarter and got the Americans within one goal, trailing just 8-7.
That made up for a situation a few seconds earlier, when a lengthy video review determined that Cupido had returned from the penalty area too early, resulting in an Alejandro Bustos penalty shot that gave Spain an 8-6 lead.
Luca Cupido. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports
After Cupido’s goal cut the margin to one, Spain scored with 4:21 left to give it a 9-7 lead, at which point Hooper had a chance to reduce the lead to one again.
But Hooper’s shot in an extra-player possession hit the post with 3:45 left in the match, leaving the score at 9-7. The Spaniards scored again at the 3:18 mark to take a 10-7 lead.
Hooper took just two shots in the game and did not score a goal.
The U.S. is the youngest men's water polo team in Tokyo, with an average age of 26, and the average age would be lower if 38-year-old, five-time Olympian Jesse Smith were not on the roster.
“These European teams have so much experience,” U.S. goaltender Alex Wolf told the Los Angeles Times. “Unfortunately, we don’t have [a] league in America. It’s a huge sacrifice guys have to take to go over and play in Europe. So every opportunity we do have got to make the most of it.”
The U.S. men were hoping to rebound from their 2016 showing when then they finished 10th, their worst Olympic performance in history.
The Americans have never won a gold medal in men’s water polo, which has been an Olympic event since 1900, but they won silver medals in 1984, 1988 and 2008.
The Americans’ match against Italy may hold extra meaning for Cupido, who was born in Italy and holds dual citizenship in Italy and the United States.
Spain will face Serbia in one semifinal and Hungary will take on Greece in the other.
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Cover photo of Luca Cupido by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports
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