A vital match for both Montenegro and the USA men’s water polo teams ended in drama and disappointment for Team USA. The Americans could not overcome a four-minute disadvantage in the final stanza after center defender Alex Roelse was thrown out of the game for a brutality foul. By rule the Americans played a player short for that period and could not overcome the odds despite their bold efforts. The 8-5 loss left the Americans in fifth place in Group B with nearly impossible odds of advancing to the round-of-eight finals.
Team USA will close out group play with a match against group leaders Italy on Sunday.
The American men last missed out on an Olympic medal round in 2004 in Athens. That team placed eighth in a tournament in which six teams rather than eight competed for the top prize.
