Canada finishes second in Group B after loss to the United States

Home Canada finishes second in Group B after loss to the United States

Water Polo Canada – (Surgut, Russia, September 6, 2018) – The Canadian women’s team concluded the preliminary round with a 17-3 loss to the United States at the FINA Women’s Water Polo World Cup, in Surgut, Russia. After a close first half, the American squad was able to pull away in the third quarter making it the difficult for the Canadians to come back into the game.

Both goalkeepers highlighted the opening minutes of the game, making crucial saves to keep the score at 0-0. Maggie Stephens opened the scoring for the US at 5:12 in the first period. The Canadian women had good opportunities on offense in this quarter, but US goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson made the stops to keep her team in front 2-0 at the end of the first period.

Emma Wright fired one from the right side to put Canada on the scoreboard at 5:28 of the second quarter. The USA answered back on the next possession to regain a two-goal lead. Good blocks and great work from Canada’s goalkeeper Claire Wright limited the US chances in this period. The Americans took advantage of their extra-man advantage in the last minute of the first half to put the score at 4-1.

The United States came out running at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring three quick goals to extend their lead to 7-1. Emma Wright converted a penalty shot to put her team within five goals. An unlucky deflection on the Canadian block helped the US regain a six-goal lead. Krystina Alogbo beat the goalkeeper on the Canadian power play halfway through the quarter. A five-goal run in the last minutes of the third quarter gave the United States a comfortable 13-3 lead heading into the final quarter.

The United States capitalized on their power play opportunities in the final quarter, adding two more goals with the extra-player advantage. In the end, the Canadian women could not overcome the third quarter sequence and had to concede defeat to the USA team.

“We started the game off very strong and battled in the first two quarters to keep the game close. We had a breakdown in the third which gave the US the opportunities to spread the score and they capitalized on them. As we begin the second part of the tournament, it’s important that we come together as a team and fix the gaps in our game to move tomorrow in the crossover” indicated Kindred Paul of the Women’s national team.

The Canadian women’s team finished the group phase with a 2-1-0 record for the second place in Group B. Canada will now face Australia (3rd of Group A) in the crossover tomorrow at 16:30 Local / 7:30 am EST (subject to change). Live stream is available on FINA TV .

USA 17 – 3 CAN (2-0, 2-1, 9-2, 4-0)

Goals: Emma Wright (2), Krystina Alogbo

GK: Claire Wright

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