CORTINA, ITALY — With Italian supporters whistling and shouting throughout the night, the United States delivered its strongest performance of the tournament Sunday, defeating host Italy 10–1 in mixed team wheelchair curling at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. The Americans got their first win in their third round-robin game, moving to 1–2 in tournament play.

United States Versus Italy

Team USA seized control early, scoring three points in the opening end and adding four more in the third, building a commanding lead even as the crowd continued to try to rally the home team.

During one particularly loud stretch, veteran fourth Matthew Thums leaned into the moment with a quick on‑ice quip, joking that if the whistling kept up the Americans might as well treat it like background music and keep throwing good stones.

That approach seemed to work.

The United States continued to apply pressure with single points in the fourth, fifth and sixth ends before Italy conceded with the score 10–1 and two ends remaining.

Statistically, the United States controlled the match, finishing with 71 percent overall shot success compared with 53 percent for Italy.

Through three games, the United States has leaned on its full roster with Katie Verderber entering the lineup against Italy alongside Matthew Thums, Sean O’Neill, Dan Rose and Oyuna Uranchimeg.

Opening The Tournament

The victory followed two losses that opened the tournament.

Team USA began round‑robin play Saturday morning against China, one of the sport’s traditional powers. The Americans scored two points in the opening end, but China responded with four in the second and added another four in the fourth, building a lead the United States could not erase in the 12–7 loss.

China finished the match with 67 percent overall shot success compared with 61 percent for the United States.

Later Saturday, the Americans returned to the ice for a tightly contested matchup against Great Britain. Teams traded points throughout regulation before Great Britain edged the United States 6–5 in an extra end.

Support For Team USA

Despite those results, the Americans believed their level of play had been strong.

“We thought we’d played very well the first two games against two excellent opponents,” O’Neill, who shot 92 percent against Italy said. “We wanted to keep that going. We did that tonight as a unit.”

O’Neill also noted that even with the crowd heavily behind the host nation, the Americans could hear their own supporters.

“Having some of the loudest cheers in the Italian arena was an incredible experience,” he said.

For veteran lead Oyuna Uranchimeg, the breakthrough win came down to maintaining the same energy the Americans had shown through the tournament’s opening games.

“We started strong today,” said the four-time Paralympian. “We’re going to keep going strong all the way through.”

With the win over Italy, the United States now looks to build on their momentum as round‑robin play continues in Cortina. The top four of the ten teams in the standings will advance to the semifinals later in the week.