- Original Release

SALEM, W.Va. (April 8) -- Former Salem International University standout Michael Izdinsky scored 4:01 into the third quarter and punched in a five-meter penalty tally during a shootout as the French National Team found a way against the Netherlands to claim a 12-11 victory at the 2016 FINA Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Trieste, Italy and punch its ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Izdinsky, who becomes the third former/current Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) varsity student-athlete to make the Olympic Games joining Australia's Bronwen Knox (Hartwick College) and the United States' Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton University), set his team up for victory in the shootout.

Down 11-10 in the shootout and needing to score to keep his homeland's Olympic dreams alive, the former Salem International Tiger found the back of the cage and the hearts of the French people to knot the score at 11-all.  Following a miss by Spijker of the Netherlands, Mehdi Marzouki of France posted the game-winner to allow France to join Hungary (8-7 W vs. Germany), Spain (8-7 W vs. Canada) and Italy (8-7 W vs. Romania) in garnering the tournament's four Olympic qualifying spots.

Earlier in the game, Izdinsky put away an even-strength score 4:01 into the third quarter to move France within 5-4 over the Netherlands after trailing 4-3 at halftime.  Down 6-5 at the start of the fourth quarter, France rallied back to even the score prior to the conclusion of regulation by outscoring the Netherlands 3-2 down the stretch to set-up Izdinsky's heroics.

The strikes mark his sixth and seventh of the tournament as he previously scored once in a 10-8 defeat of Slovakia on Wednesday, April 6, following a game-high three tallies in a 13-7 loss to Hungary on Sunday, April 3.  He was held scoreless in a 12-11 victory over Romania on Monday, April 4, and a 13-5 defeat by Canada on Thursday, April 7.  His biggest game of the event, prior to France's must-win showdown with the Netherlands, came on Tuesday, April 5, as he blasted in the game-winner with five seconds left in a 12-11 defeat of Russia.

The win improves France (13-7 L vs. Hungary, 12-11 W vs. Romania, 12-11 W vs. Russia, 10-8 W vs. Slovakia, 13-5 L vs. Canada, 12-11 W vs. Netherlands) to 4-2 at the event and earns the team another shot at Hungary (13-7 W vs. France, 14-14 T vs. Canada, 12-8 W vs. Romania, 18-8 W vs. Russia, 16-7 W vs. Slovakia, 8-7 W vs. Germany) at 7:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, April 9, with a berth in the tournament title game on the line. Italy will meet Spain in the other semifinal at 8:30 p.m.

Complete results of the tournament to date are available online at: http://www.federnuoto.it/index.php

The Olympic qualifier continues a string of international success for the former Salem International Tiger as Izdinsky scored two goals and dished out five assists to lead the French National Team to a Ninth Place finish at the 2016 European Water Polo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, on January 10-23.

France's placement earned the team a spot in this week's 2016 FINA Men's Water Polo Olympic Games Qualification Tournament running from April 3-10 in Trieste, Italy.

Selected by FINA into Group A for the event on January 23 as the draw occurred in Belgrade during the European Championships, France's slot is among 12 places allocated to continental associations for teams not already directly qualified for the Olympics - nine from Europe, one from the Americas, one from Asia and one from Africa.

A 2013 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division II All-America to go along with Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Scholar-Athlete Outstanding honors, Izdinsky established a Salem International single season record with 106 goals in his season with the Tigers.

Viva la France & Michal Izdinsky

2016 FINA Men's Olympic Games Qualification Tournament Draw