(Paris) In its second match of the women’s Olympic tournament, the Canadian water polo team defeated China 12-7 on Wednesday afternoon at the Aquatic Centre.
Axelle Crevier, Élyse Lemay-Lavoie, Serena Browne and Emma Wright all scored twice. Shae La Roche, Marilia Mimides, Hayley McKelvey and Kindred Paul also scored in the victory.
Clara Vulpisi was the backup goalie to Ontario’s Jessica Gaudreault who stopped 8 of 15 shots in this game where the Canadian defense made several nice blocks.
David Paradello’s team got off to a flying start to build a 4-0 lead after the first quarter. The next quarter was to the advantage of the Chinese who reduced the gap to 5-3 in favour of the Canadians.
“Starting the game this way is what we had prepared as a game plan. The girls were super disciplined. Afterwards, there were small adjustments to make and we did them correctly,” analyzed the Canadian driver.
PHOTO LUCA BRUNO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Goalkeeper Shen Yineng stops a Canadian shot
“This is the match that we absolutely had to win to be in a favourable position to go through to the quarter-finals. We started the match well at 3-0, the opposite of the other match (against Hungary) where we were trailing 3-2. We were methodical, but we slowed down in the second quarter,” admitted Axelle Crevier.
The start of the third quarter was marked by some great Canadian defensive work on the penalty kill, which was followed by a superb goal from Serena Browne, a precise shot from more than 5 metres past the Chinese goalie to make it 6-3.
“Yes, it was a nice goal and it showed how we play as a team,” said the scorer, who is participating in her first Games.
Monday’s 12-7 loss to Hungary was Canada’s first, while the Hungarians were in their second. “There was a little bit of nerves and we made a few more mistakes, which is normal,” the coach said.
Serena Browne confirms this statement.
“I felt more confident (today) and in the first part there was more nervousness. We (the rookies) talked to the more experienced ones who have already been through this. Being able to rely on them helped us a lot. The dialogue is open and we can be honest with them because they just want to help us. It’s an open conversation and an exchange. They are there for us.”
Canada will face Australia (2-0) on Friday.