Given his Cal education, Adrian Weinberg knows how to use his head.
Wednesday, Weinberg used all of it as he stuck out his face to block a key penalty shot, one of two saves in a shootout that helped Team USA advance over Australia, 11-10, in men’s water polo.
With a win, the Americans clinched a spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2008, when they won a silver medal.
Weinberg, who won three national championships as the goalie at Cal, finished with 11 saves in a nail-biting finish in which the Americans nearly lost in the game’s final minute.
Australia tied the game, then took a lead with a pair of goals in a 52-second span in the fourth quarter.
But with the U.S. down to its final possession, former Stanford star Alex Bowen scored to tie the game with 32 seconds left and force penalty shots.
That’s where Weinberg made two key blocks, including a hard shot he saved with his face, to send the Americans through.
Team USA will now face a big test in two-time defending gold medalists from Serbia in a semifinal match on Friday.
Seven of the 13 players on the U.S. men’s roster have Bay Area ties.
Cal’s Alekna earns silver in discus
After setting a new world record in the men’s discus throw in April, Cal junior Mykolas Alekna entered the Summer Olympics as a gold medal favorite.
He’ll have to settle for silver.
Alekna, 21, came within 0.03 meters of the winning throw of 70.00 meters by Jamaica’s Roje Stona. Stona’s toss broke a 20-year-old Olympic record previously held by Virgilijus Alekna, Mykolas’ dad.
Mykolas had set the world record in April with a throw of 74.35 meters. The record had been held for 38 years.
This story will be updated.
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