Hungarian goalie Edina Gangl allowed just 5 goals as her team topped Italy 10-5 to move past the semifinal round at the 2016 European Water Polo Championships.
Despite out-shooting Hungary 32-25, Italy was stymied by the stalwart Gangl, knocking in just five scores including two from Arianna Garibotti.
Hungary jumped out to an early lead and maintained a comfortable cushion in a game that never got within two goals in the second half.
Anna Krisztina Illes had three backbreaking goals for the Hungarians, two of them within a single minute of the second period. With Hungary leading 2-1 at the end of the first, the game was still well in hand. But Illes scored about three minutes into the second, and then tossed in an extra player goal just 59 seconds later to blow a close game wide open at 4-1.
Late in the third, Illes would score again, this time pushing a 7-3 lead to 8-3 to really put the pressure on Italy.
The deep deficit led to some wide disparities in playing time for the Italians. Garibotti was a workhorse, playing just under 24-and-a-half of the game’s 32 minutes.
She would score one more in the fourth, but Hungary answered with Barbara Bujka and Hanna Anna Kisteleki each getting their second goals of the game shortly after.
Italy would get one more goal from Roberta Bianconi, who was also in the thick of things for nearly 25 minutes, but her score came with only two minutes left in what was just about garbage time with a 6-goal lead for Hungary.
Hungary also got a pair of goals from Rita Keszthelyi, who led all athletes with over 25 minutes of playtime for the victors.
And where Gangl was so tough in goal for Hungary, Italy struggled to rack up saves. Giulia Gorlero made just eight saves in 18 opportunities as the Hungarians were deadly accurate with their scoring chances.
Hungary now moves on to the gold medal final to face the Netherlands, who topped Spain in a penalty shootout in the other semifinal.
