In the tradition of USA Water Polo, Coronado’s Jesse Smith capped off his retirement by receiving a cap with insignias of the five straight Olympics in which he competed.
Athens … Beijing … London … Rio de Janeiro … Tokyo … and now back home.
The retirement ceremony came Friday night as Team USA geared up for this summer’s Olympic Games before a sellout crowd of about 1,800 at UC San Diego’s Canyonview Aquatics Center with a 6-5 shootout loss to Montenegro.
After a 14-14 tie in regulation, Montenegro took the shootout in nine rounds for a split of the two-game series.
Smith even ed the Americans in the pool for the first 2 minutes, 31 seconds before being saluted at halftime.
”Let’s just hear one giant U-S-A (cheer),” said Smith, 41, in beginning his halftime comments to the crowd. To conclude, the top-flight defender implored: “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
As the highlight of Smith’s Olympic career, the Americans earned a silver medal in 2008. Next best was the most recent, a sixth-place finish in the 2020 Games that were delayed until 2021.
“I’m so grateful to be part of this community in water polo,” Smith said afterward. “Here in San Diego, you can see how water polo is thriving. It’s hard to encapsulate 20 years, but it’s just been awesome.”
With Smith retired, Santee’s Alex Bowen is positioned to become one of four senior who will make their third Olympic appearance this year. Chances are that 10 players will be back from the Tokyo Games on the 13-member roster that will be announced Tuesday in Los Angeles.
It’s too early, the Santana High School alum noted, to consider duplicating Smith’s Olympic longevity.
“Let’s get to three first,” said Bowen, 31, a standout shooter who has played professionally in Paris the last two years. “My goal is four with Los Angeles around the corner (in 2028).”
USA’s Max Irving converted his second penalty shot over the final two minutes to for a 14-14 tie with 39 seconds left in regulation play.
At the outset Bowen connected on a powerful long-distance shot in helping the USA build a 4-1 lead. However, Montenegro answered with a five-goal run before Dyland Woodhead recorded back-to-back scores for a 6-6 halftime tie.
Irving finished with three goals, while Johnny Hooper, Hannes Daube and Woodhead each added two. The Americans rebounded from n 11-8 third-quarter deficit.
Bowen scored on both of his shootout attempts.
Smith and his wife, Brittany, introduced Bowen to his fiancee, Hilary Hansen, a Coronado High School alum. The Smiths will be in the wedding party on Aug. 31, when Alex and Brittany Bowen are married.
Smith matched Tony Azevedo (2000-2016) for the most Olympic appearances by an American men’s water polo player. Also, he played professionally in 10 countries, including Montenegro, becoming known as one of the top defenders in international water polo.
At his high school alma mater, Smith coached Coronado High School boys to the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 title last fall and the guided the Islander girls to a repeat D-1 crown last winter in his first year at the helm. Smith played on three section title teams (1998-2000)and twice received section Player of the Year honors (1999-2000) before becoming a four-time All-American at Pepperdine University.
