BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Indiana University star Shae Fournier (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Grant Park) scored three times in recording a hat-trick and current Hoosiers’ standout Kelly Matthews (Sr., Roxboro, Quebec, Canada/St. Thomas) tossed in a solo marker as the duo combined for four goals to help Canada overwhelm New Zealand, 15-4, at the Taipei Songshan Sports Center in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) to open the 29th Summer Universiade/University Games.
Fournier started the scoring 1:23 into the match to put the Canadians out in front to stay.
She was followed 28 seconds later by Elyse Lavoie-Lemay, who led Canada with four goals.
Kyra Christmas and Kindred Paul added two goals for Canada, while Matthews, Donia Momen, Hayley McKelvey and Emma Wright each scored once.
Princeton University’s Charlotte Valentine (So., Orakei, New Zealand/St. Cuthbert’s College) did not score in 5:31 of playing time for New Zealand.
The next game for Canada is Sunday, August 20, at 1:00 a.m. Eastern/1:00 p.m. local against Russia.
Canada is competing in Pool A for the event against Russia, Hungary, Japan, Great Britain and New Zealand. Action continues later in the week against Hungary (Tuesday, August 22), Japan (Thursday, August 24) and Great Britain (Friday, August 25) prior to the Quarterfinals (Saturday, August 26), Semifinals (Sunday, August 27) and Championship (Tuesday, August 29).
Russia is aiming to recapture its former glory as the team captured Gold in 2013 prior to claiming Bronze in 2015. 2015 defending champion Australia will compete in Pool B with Italy, the United States, France, Argentina and Greece.
Since women’s water polo was added to the University Games in 2009, Canada has progressively improved its position. Following Fourth (2009 in Belgrade, Serbia), Sixth (2011 in Shenzhen, China) and Fourth (2013 in Kazan, Russia) place finishes to miss out on medals, Canada placed second in 2015 at the Yeomju Indoor Aquatics Center in Gwangju, South Korea as the team fell in a penalty shootout to Australia, 6-3.
Matthews will enter her senior season for the Hoosiers with 207 goals, 108 assists, 115 steals and 46 field blocks over the span of her intercollegiate career. The defender has prior international experience as she competed in the 2015 iteration of the Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea and totaled nine goals, five assists, two steals and three field blocks in Canada’s run to a Silver Medal finish. Further, this will mark the second University Games for Matthews in which she will compete with a fellow former/current Hoosier as classmate Sarah Myers (Sr., Toronto, Canada/Humberside) posted a goal, five assists, four steals and a field block in the Canadian’s prior runner-up finish.
In addition to her past University Games experience, Matthews also helped Canada to a Fourth Place finish at the 2015 FINA World Women’s Junior Water Polo Championships in Volos, Greece.
Ranked fifth in career goals at Indiana (207) and the team’s leading scorer in each of her seasons in Bloomington, Matthews was the first player in program history to receive All-America honors from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) as a freshman. Further, the three-time ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America selection is tied with CWPA Hall of Fame member Kristin Stanford 2001: Honorable Mention; 2002: Second Team; 2003: First Team) as the only players in Indiana history to claim three All-America nods.
A three-time All-CWPA selection (2015: Second Team; 2016: First Team; 2017: First Team) and the league’s 2015 Rookie of the Year, Matthews is coming off a junior season in which she netted 61 goals, 31 assists, 33 steals and 11 field blocks.
A 2014 graduate of Indiana, Fournier is currently enrolled at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, with teammates Elyse Lemay-Lavoie and Michelle Caron while training at the National Training Centre in Montreal, will look to add to her legacy in the sport of water polo.
One of the most decorated players in Hoosiers’ water polo history, she holds the top two school records for single-season goals (95 in 2014, 83 in 2013) and career goals (305), and is second in IU history in career steals (311). Fournier was the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Player of the Year, and earned second team Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America and College Sport Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) First-Team Academic All-America honors. Fournier is one of five players in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history to score 300 or more goals in her career.
The Most Valuable Player of the 2014 CWPA Championship hosted by Bucknell University for leading the Hoosiers to an 11-10 victory over Princeton University, she is among a select group of Indiana women’s water polo players who won a pair of league titles during their tenure. In 2011 as a freshman, Fournier helped her squad down the University of Michigan, 5-3, at home in Bloomington for the program’s first title since taking home the 2003 crown.
The University Games mark the third major international event of the Summer for Fournier who combined with current Indiana goalie Jessica Gaudreault (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada/St. Joseph) to help Canada finish in Fourth Place at the 2017 FINA World Championship in Budapest, Hungary, at the Alfred Hajos Pool. For Canada, the Fourth Place finish marked a dramatic seven place rise in the international ranks as the team finished 11th at the 2015 FINA World Championship in Kazan, Russia.
Fournier and Gaudreault previously helped Canada to a runner-up finish at the 2017 FINA World League Super Final in Shanghai, China, in June.
For New Zealand, Valentine saw time in 19 games Princeton during her freshman season in 2017 at Princeton. She tallied six goals, three assists and 13 steals during the season in helping the Tigers finish second at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship.
New Zealand will next be in competition against Japan on Sunday, August 20, before meeting Russia (Tuesday, August 22), Great Britain (Thursday, August 24) and Hungary (Friday, August 25) prior to the Quarterfinals (Saturday, August 26), Semifinals (Sunday, August 27) and Championship (Tuesday, August 29).
Information courtesy Water Polo Canada
