U.S. Beats Italy When Push Comes to Shove

Dan Hackett, goalie for the United States men’s water polo team, smirked and then summed things up in one sentence.

“Always a pleasure to play the Italians,” Hackett said.

The United States knew this was coming and made use of it in a 8-5 victory over Italy Saturday in the UPS International Cup--a win that put the U.S. in today’s tournament final against Yugoslavia. But only after a lot of pushing, grabbing and shoving.

So it was somewhat fitting that the game was held at the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Of course, according to the U.S. players, there was nothing unusual about Italy’s play.

“I didn’t see anybody bleeding,” Wolf Wigo said.

Nope. No casualties.

There were a few bruised egos. Italy’s Roberto Calcaterra griped at referees throughout the game and then at the U.S. players all the way out of the pool after the game.

Ciao wasn’t his parting word.

Italy started by playing physical defense and then got penalized. Alberto Angelini was ejected early in the second period. Assistant coach Ferdinando Pesci followed him later in the period after complaining about a Chris Humbert goal. The Italian bench was also assessed a yellow card.

United States players had seen this before and planned for it.

“That happens all the time when you play them,” said Wigo, who scored three goals. “We knew we just had to keep our cool and not do anything stupid. Let them get the fouls.”

Italy obliged by gobbling them up, giving the United States a man-advantage 13 times, which resulted in four goals.

The Italians had a different version.

“We were not satisfied with the referees from the beginning,” Italy Coach Ratko Rudic said. “One was Croatian and the other Australian. They have teams in this tournament. They had an interest in Italy losing.

“It was very bad in the beginning. They called things one way for the U.S. and another way for Italy. I don’t want to say the U.S. won because of the referees. They played better in the end.”

But through the first 10 minutes, the U.S. needed sharp play from Hackett, who was the back-up goalie for the 1996 Olympic team.

The U.S. missed its first 11 shots and didn’t score for 10 minutes 31 seconds. Yet, Italy managed only a 1-0 lead. Hackett made only four saves in the first half, which allowed the U.S. to take a 4-1 halftime lead.

“I’d rather win, 5-4, than 10-9,” Hackett said. “It shows we’re playing good defense.”

There was a time when Hackett dreamed about playing another kind of defense . . . as the New York Yankees’ shortstop. Those hopes haven’t vanished completely.

“Derek Jeter has been hurt a lot this year, you know,” Hackett said.

Other goals have become more important.

Hackett, who played at Irvine High School and UCLA, took over as the U.S. goalie in 1997, when Chris Duplanty retired. He helped the U.S. win the FINA Cup in 1997.

The Olympics, though, are different.

“I have played in a lot of international tournaments, but none of them have the media pressure that the Olympics has,” Hackett said. “I still have to learn about that.”

Not that he has any doubts about the team.

“For us to be successful, we have to be grinders,” Hackett said. “We have to wear people down and play good defense.”

The U.S. played good defense Saturday, but the defense also left Hackett dangling a couple times.

He stuffed Amedeo Pomilio seconds into the game. He denied Pomilio by stealing the ball from him. The only goal Italy scored through the first 15 minutes was with a man-advantage.

By then, the U.S. offense had picked up. Wigo scored two goals within a minute in the second quarter and the United States never trailed again.

“When the game is 1-0 after one quarter, you can feel it getting a little tense,” Hackett said. “That’s OK. I like the tension. It keeps me alert.”

In other games, Australia defeated the U.S. B team, 12-6, and Croatia defeated Yugoslavia, 6-4.

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Water Polo

* What: UPS Cup Men’s International Tournament

* When: Today

* Where: USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center, located at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, 11200 Lexington Dr., Los Alamitos

* Basics: Round-robin tournament gives U.S. coaches their final look at athletes competing for spots on Olympic team, which will be named Aug. 1.

* Today’s schedule: noon--Italy vs. United States ‘B’; 1:30 p.m.--Croatia vs. Australia; 3--Yugoslavia vs. United States.

* Tickets: $12 for adults, $8 for students.

* Web site: https://www.ups-cup.com

* Information: City of Los Alamitos, Recreation and Community Services Dept., (562) 430-1073