Walnut Creek Athlete Claims Gold At Pan Am Games

WALNUT CREEK, CA — The U.S. Women's National Water Polo Team defeated Canada 24-4 to claim gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru on Saturday, and Walnut Creek's Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored a goal in the first period.

Also representing the East Bay was Danville's Maggie Steffens. She got things started with a goal in the opening 30 seconds of the match, and then added another one just two minutes later for an early 2-0 lead. In total, she scored four goals during the weekend's championship.

Other top U.S. scorers included Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) with six, and four from Stephania Haralabidis(Athens, Greece/USC/NYAC).

The team finished play in Peru 6-0 outscoring opponents by an impressive margin, 142-24.

While US Women's Soccer, rightfully, receives worldwide recognition, Women's Water Polo also dominates their sport. Saturday's victory marked the 59th straight win for Team USA and fifth straight Pan American Games title.

Last month, Team USA defeated Spain to win the 2019 FINA World Championship in Gwangju, South Korea. The team has qualified to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics

The USA Men's National Water Polo Team was also victorious during the Pan Am Games. The team defeated Canada 18-6 in the championship, and in the process qualified for the 2020 Olympics.

— Patch editors Toni McAllister and Bea Karnes contributed to this story

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