BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Rising sophomore Mollie Williams (Sutherland Shire, Australia/Meriden) of Indiana University inflicted the majority of the scoring in the game by burying four goals to lead Australia to a convincing 10-3 defeat of Greece at the Taipei Songshan Sports Center in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) to open the 29th Summer Universiade/University Games.
Trailing 1-0 after a score by Greece with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter, Williams turned the tide for Australia by burying back-to-back blasts with 53 and 12 seconds remaining in the frame to put the Aussies out in front to stay at 2-1.
She completed a hat-trick at the 6:16 mark of the second quarter by ripping in her third consecutive strike to expand the lead to 3-1. Australia continued to pour on the offense over the remainder of the first half to take a 6-1 lead into halftime.
Out in front by an 8-2 score late in the third quarter, Williams completed her offensive output by depositing her fourth and final tally with 1:45 left in the period to widen the gap to 9-2 prior to the teams exchanging scores for the 10-3 final score.
Pascalle Casey and Daisy Carter each added two goals for Australia, while Tori Morrissey and Brooke McClean notched solo markers.
Australia, which is competing in Group B at the tournament against Greece, the United States, France, Italy and Argentina will continue the tournament on Sunday, August 20, at 5:00 p.m. local time against Italy. The Aussies will close out group play against the United States (Tuesday, August 22), France (Thursday, August 24) and Argentina (Friday, August 25) prior to the Quarterfinals (Saturday, August 26), Semifinals (Sunday, August 27) and Championship (Tuesday, August 29).
A 2017 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America Honorable Mention and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) All-Conference Second Team selection, Williams joined the Hoosiers at the semester break and led a potent freshman class with 42 goals and six hat tricks, adding 27 assists and 46 steals to the season effort. She led Indiana with 26 drawn exclusions and notched eight field blocks.
The University Games, also known as the Summer Universiade, is the world’s second largest international athletic event, double the size of the Winter Olympics and bigger than the Commonwealth Games.
