U.S. Women's Water Polo Loses Semifinal Game, Will Play for Bronze as Maggie Steffens Says They've 'Been Through a Lot'

Teammate Maddie Musselman told reporters it's "easy" to have a positive perspective in the pool considering all she's going through outside of the sport

The U.S. women’s water polo team has faced its fair share of adversity in recent months — but they’re not letting their heartbreaking Olympics loss get them down.

After a nail-biting semifinal game on Thursday, Aug. 8, that saw Australia come from behind then ultimately win in a dramatic shootout, Team USA lost out on the chance to win a gold medal for the fourth Olympics in a row.

Still, captain Maggie Steffens and attacker Maddie Musselman are keeping their eyes on the prize amid personal heartbreak off the field.

“[We’re] obviously bummed. [It’s] not the result we wanted, but we gotta come back, reflect, grow and just be better in two days. We can rebound,” Steffens told reporters, including PEOPLE, after the match. “We've been through a lot, especially this squad. And I'm excited to show the resilience and just try to be better for next game."

Related: Olympian Madeline Musselman's Husband Cheers Her on in Paris amid Stage 4 Lung Cancer Journey

Steffens, 31, the only player on the team to have been a member of all three gold medal-winning squads since 2012, certainly has not had this Olympics go the way she planned.

On July 28, just days after the opening ceremony, a rep for the team confirmed to PEOPLE that Steffens’ 26-year-old sister-in-law died in Paris following a medical emergency while visiting to watch Steffens compete. The athlete has since been vocal about wanting to keep her spirits up in honor of Lulu Conner, the younger sister of her husband Bobby Conner.

“Unfortunately there’s been a lot of adversity outside of water that we faced, and I just think that we’ve been through a lot and done a great job of being there for one another,” she said on Thursday. “This team is amazing. There’s so much passion, so much love, so much camaraderie, and I’m excited to fight for them one more time.”

Musselman, 26, had a similar sentiment speaking with reporters after the loss to Australia, saying that while the end result was “heartbreaking,” she still had hopes that the team could “end on a high” with a bronze medal.

Related: Maggie Steffens Says Sister-in-Law Lulu Conner, Who Died at Paris Olympics, 'Brought Joy to Everybody' (Exclusive)

This Games has been an emotional one for Musselman, too, who recently shared that her husband, Patrick Woepse, has stage four lung cancer.

“I've been through a lot outside of sport right now, so it's been easy to have that perspective for myself,” she said, referring to her positive attitude heading into Saturday’s match. “It might be hard for some other people on my team. But life is precious for me right now. And so for me, a loss right now is obviously hard, but [I’m] moving forward.”

Musselman shared Woepse’s diagnosis in an interview with NBC Los Angeles in late July, saying that they’d made a wedding come together in just four days after learning he only had months to live.

Woepse, 30, made the trek to Paris to watch his wife compete, and has been on the sidelines cheering her on.

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