BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Indiana University alum Shae Fournier (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Grant Park) scored twice in support of current Hoosiers’ goalie Jessica Gaudreault (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada/St. Joseph) as Canada rallied back from a 5-3 halftime deficit to shock China, 9-8, with a last second goal, while the University of Michigan’s Maddy Steere (So., Pascoe Vale, Australia/St. Catherine’s School) helped Australia roll over Russia, 8-5, on the second day (Tuesday, July 18) of women’s competition at the 2017 FINA World Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
Following a 10-4 loss to Italy on the first day of competition (Sunday, July 16) in Group A competition, the Canadians outscored China 5-0 in the third quarter to grab an 8-5 lead. However, China rallied back to knot the score at eight-all with a 3-0 outuburst in the fourth quarter capped off by a Danyi Zhang then covered herself in glory with a stunning shot from long range with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
Facing the possibility of a turnover and last second loss or a defeat in extra-time, Canada took a timeout and then turned to center forward Christine Robinson. Canada lofted a pass over a defender which settled onto the water for Robinon who lifted the sphere, turned and scooped in the game-winner with one second left to secure an improbable 9-8 win.
For Canada, Fournier tied for game-high scoring honors as Emma Wright, Monika Eggens and Hayley McKelvey also tallied pairs of markers. Robinson’s last second strike was her only goal of the contest.
For China, DunHan Xiong and Jing Zhang both put away pairs of chances. GuanNan Niu, Cong Zhang, Danyi Zhang and Xiao Chen accounted for the other four Chinese goals.
Canada will next be in action at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 20, versus Brazil in both teams’ Group A finale.
Steere, who scored twice in a 16-4 win by Australia over Kazakhstan on July 16 to open Group D competition, did not net a goal in the Aussies’ 8-5 defeat of Russia.
Down 2-1 after a quarter of play, Australia rallied back by outscoring the Russians 2-1, 3-1 and 2-1 over the span of the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively, to remain undefeated in group play and set up a meeting with Greece on Thursday, July 20, at 10:50 a.m. in the concluding game of Group D.
