The Canadian Women’s Water Polo squad finished their World University Games group stage slate at the top of the table and advanced to the quarterfinal round. Indiana University sophomores Kelly Matthews and Sarah Myers have made major contributions to Team Canada’s success thus far in the women’s water polo tournament.
Matthews has given Team Canada the same high-scoring performances that she provided for the Hoosiers in her freshman year. Through four matches, Matthews has scored eight goals, served four assists, recorded two steals, and converted one field block.
Like Matthews, Myers’ Universiade 2015 performance reflects her vital supporting role for the Hoosiers in her debut season. In the group stage, Myers tossed five assists, totaled four steals, made a field block, and won an opening sprint in Canada’s third match against China.
Canada dominated their group competition on the way to the top of the table one of the top seeds in the quarterfinal round. In their first match against Serbia, the Canadians found themselves down by one score at the end of the first quarter, but an eight-to-one scoring run during the second and third quarter turned an early scare into their biggest margin of victory thus far. Matthews’ goal in the first and two in the second helped turn the match around for the Canadians, and Myers’ two assists and solid defensive performance helped retain the lead.
Their second match in Group A play was the toughest of the round, a narrow 9-8 victory over Russia. The Canadians were down 6-5 at half time, but surged into the third quarter with four unanswered goals. Matthews’ two goals in the game came at the tail end of the four-goal run in the third quarter. Myers added an assist and two steals to Canada’s win over Group A’s eventual runner-up Russia.
The pair of Hoosiers saw less action in Canada’s 11-5 win over China, but still managed to add to the team’s third win in big ways. Matthews stuffed the stat sheet with three assists, six shot attempts, a steal, and a field block. Myers won the opening sprint of the fourth quarter to help stifle a comeback by the Chinese squad.
The Canadians sealed the table win with a 15-11 win over Japan in their final group match. Matthews scored her second hat trick of the tournament during Canada’s eight-to-four scoring run between the second and third quarters. Myers added two more assists to her total and converted another steal to lift the Canadians into the knockout round.
Canada returns to the pool on Thursday, January 9 at 2:30am ET (3:30 pm local time) in their quarterfinal match against Hungary. The Hungarians finished fourth in Group B after going 1-3, their only win being their match against France. With a win, they would guarantee a spot in one of the two medal matches.
Swimming news courtesy of Indiana University Water Polo.