Canadian women drop semis to Hungary at water polo World League Super Final
Canada to play Russia for bronze on Saturday
The Canadian women's water polo team will play for bronze after suffering a 14-10 defeat to Hungary at the World League Super Final in Athens, Greece on Friday.
It was the second time the countries had met in the eight-team tournament, with Canada previously beating Hungary in a tight 13-12 battle to finish atop Group A.
Hungary took a 4-3 lead at the conclusion of the opening quarter and never looked back, outscoring Canada 10-7 in the remaining quarters.
"We started strongly but they rapidly adjusted defensively and we were unsettled. It became much harder for our team from that point. Hungary has a good team," head coach David Paradelo said following the match.
Canada's Kyra Christmas scored a team-high three goals in the loss.
"Today, we fought hard but just couldn't finish on all our opportunities. It was a tough loss, but we are keeping our heads up and refocusing on tomorrow's game."
WATCH | Canada suffers semifinal loss to Hungary at World League Super Final:
Monika Eggens (2), Emma Wright (2), Shae La Roche (2), Kelly Mckee were Canada's other goal scorers.
Despite placing third in its group, Hungary pulled off a surprise victory over Spain to reach the semifinals.
Canada had entered the match with a dominant 11-3 victory over Kazakhstan under its belt.
Canada previously defeated its upcoming bronze medal opponent Russia 12-10 during the preliminary round of the tournament.
"Russia plays a fast pace game. We will need to be ready," Paradelo said.
The bronze medal game will be played at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Hoping to ride the momentum of two consecutive wins, Hungary — who placed fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2019 world championships — will play for gold against the United States.
Canada has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but has yet to finalize its roster. The team opens its Olympics against Australia on July 24 at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre.
