By Town Crier Staff Report

Despite a team-high two goals from St. Francis High graduate Steve Lipinski, the USA Men’s Junior National men’s water polo team lost the fifth-place game at the Junior World Championships.

Team USA had to settle for sixth in the tournament after an 8-6 loss to Spain Aug. 19 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Spain led 2-0 early in the first period, then Lipinski scored on a power play goal to cut the lead in half. Spain and the USA each scored a goal in the final minute to finish the first period 3-2 in Spain’s favor.

In all, the team exchanged the lead four times and the game was tied entering the final period. Spain then scored three straight goals to take an 8-5 lead en route to the victory.

“Realistically, we played one bad game,” U.S. head coach Jim Brumm said. “We made a couple of errors in two games that really cost us, but we played hard every game and improved. I think the people in the United States would have been proud of our performance, we gave it everything we had.”

Lipinski, a 2001 St. Francis grad who will play at Loyola Marymount University in the fall, scored a team-best six goals in an earlier game against Kazakhstan. The Palo Alto resident also drew two offensive fouls and had a steal in the game, which Team USA won 23-3.

In May, the 18-year-old Lipinski played with the USA Men’s National Water Polo team in an international tournament in Italy.