Musselman leads U.S. women to record fifth gold at FINA World Championships

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Maddie Musselman, a Corona del Mar High graduate, scored three goals, lifting the U.S. women’s water polo senior national team to a 13-6 win against Spain in the gold-medal event at the FINA World Championships on Friday.

Musselman earned the tournament MVP award after finishing with 16 goals during the tournament.

“I’m very excited for the future of this team, whether the girls stay or leave and new ones come in and more people come back,” Musselman said to reporters. “It’s a good start off to a new quad, and a new lead up to the Olympics, which is really exciting.”

Rachel Fattal, from Seal Beach, made the all-tournament team.

After Spain tied the game at 3-3, Musselman scored a goal and helped extend Team USA’s lead to 5-3 at halftime.

Musselman was one of a handful of locals that were part of the U.S. team winning its record fifth FINA World Championship.

The team included former Laguna Beach High standouts Makenzie Fischer and Aria Fischer, as well as Edison High’s Alys Williams. Ethan Damato, Laguna Beach’s coach, was an assistant with Team USA.

Russia won the bronze with an 11-9 win against Canada.

— From staff reports