Fink held his own in the physical contest, scoring a goal and drawing five exclusions. And, though Argentina rallied in the second half for an 8-5 victory in the exhibition, it was clear the high school kids got a lot out of the game.
"It's always great to experience something new, play against a different style of water polo," said the Princeton-bound Fink. "It's always great to play against different countries and compare their style of play to yours, not really to see which one's better but just see how they match up together."
Earlier at Northwood, the U.S. men's senior national team defeated Argentina, 14-8, in another scrimmage. Team USA featured former UC Irvine standouts Ryan Bailey, Jeff Powers, Griffin Lerman and Greg Enloe.
Both senior national teams used it as a warmup for the four-team UANA Qualification Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Calgary. Both teams are looking to finish top-two in Canada to qualify for the FINA World Championships this summer in Barcelona, Spain.
For the high school team, playing Argentina was fun. Fink drew two straight exclusions late in the second quarter, though the Southern California team was unable to convert the six-on-four chance. The SoCal squad went just one for 10 on the power play; Argentina was four for 12.
The Harvard-bound Stevens also made a standout defensive play when he sped back to stop Argentina's Franco Demarchi on the counterattack, earning the kickout but saving the goal. Mater Dei goalie McQuin Baron (17 saves) blocked the ensuing penalty shot by Argentina team captain Ivan Carabantes.