MOSCOW -- It's low tide for the American water polo team.

The Soviet Union dunked the United States 10-5 at the Olympic Pool to win the gold medal on a cold and rainy Sunday at the Goodwill Games.

It was the most lopsided decision in the U.S.-U.S.S.R. rivalry in recent years. The Soviets led 6-0 at the half as the Americans played like the Patriots at the Super Bowl.

The Americans, silver medalists at the Olympics, thought they could stay with the Soviets, but those hopes were splashed by the Bears.

"The Soviets taught us a lesson in water polo," said Terry Schroeder, the U.S. captain.

"A good beating will wake you up. Next month, we get another shot at the Soviets in the first round of the world championships in Madrid. Down the road, I think we can beat them. Maybe not tomorrow but in a year or so.

"This is a young team and the problem right now is that we're inconsistent. In spurts, we're very, very good; but at times, we're very, very low and we don't score the goals we need to."

The U.S.S.R. finished 5-0 in the round-robin competition. The United States was 3-1-1 with a tie against Hungary.

"It's much better that it happened now," said Alan Mouchawar, who scored the last two goals for the Americans. "This gives us something to work for. We'll do better the next time we play them.

"The Russians have been together 10 years. This is our first year together as a group."

It showed. The Americans failed to capitalize on power-play opportunities and let the Soviets get behind the defense to score two short-handed goals on breakaways.

Mouchawar missed a penalty shot, bouncing it off the top of the crossbar, in the opening minute.

"You shouldn't miss a penalty shot," Mouchawar said. "When you miss, you look real bad. The Soviets capitalize on mistakes better than any team."

"You can't beat a team as good as the Russians on their mistakes," said U.S. assistant coach Steve Heaston.

"We were shaky in the first half. We sat around and watched a shot and didn't anticipate their rush. In the second half, we tried too hard. We forced the ball into shooters who were not quite open. The mistakes we made are easily correctable."

Seven Soviets scored and none had more than two goals. James Bergeson, Jeff Campbell and Michael Evans also scored for the United States.

Campbell and Berguson scored in the third period as the Americans cut the lead to 6-2, but Mikhail Ivanov lobbed a shot over goalie Craig Wilson to give the Soviet Union a 7-2 lead 37 seconds into the fourth period, and any dream of a miracle comeback was washed away.

"We had a half to play, but it's hard to come back from six-to-nothing," Schroeder said. "I've never been down six-to-nothing."

"In water polo, you don't want to get behind," Heaston said. "It then becomes a cat-and-mouse game. There is a lot of pressure on the team behind."

The U.S. will meet the Soviet Union in the third game of the world championships, Aug. 9.

"The world championships is the big tournament because it determines the teams in the 1988 Olympics," Heaston said. "The top six qualify."

Sunday's game was played before another small crowd, which did not look as bad on television after spectators moved into the seats in front of the TV cameras for the second half.

A Turner Broadcasting official said the network, which is co-producing as well as televising the Games, did not orchestrate the Soviet shuffle.

But Bob Wussler, WTBS' chief executive, has repeatedly scolded the Soviets about poor crowds, and the official said Wussler's calls may have had something to do with the seating movement.

Copyright © 2020, Sun Sentinel