After opening their defense of their Olympic gold medal with a commanding 11-4 win over Spain Tuesday, the United States women return to the pool to face China Thursday morning. Courtney Mathewson, Kiley Neushul and Maggie Steffens scored two goals apiece for Team USA in the win, and defensively they have the luxury of being able to call upon goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson to keep opposing shots out of the net.
WATCH LIVE: United States vs. China -- 10:40 a.m. Eastern
China is looking to rebound from a 13-11 loss to Hungary in their group play opener, a match that turned when Hungary went on a run of four consecutive goals in the third period. Ma Huanhuan and Niu Guannan, who scored three goals apiece in that loss, are two players to watch Thursday morning.
WATCH LIVE: Women’s water polo, match day two -- 8 a.m. Eastern
All eight women’s water polo teams will be in action, with the Group A match between Italy and Australia being between teams that managed to win their openers by solid margins. Italy beat hosts Brazil 9-3, and Australia routed Russia by the final score of 14-4.