BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Salem International University standout Michal Izdinsky did not play due to injury as France outscored Canada 5-1 in the second half to claim a 10-6 victory on Sunday, July 23, and earn a showdown against the United States in the 13th Place game of the 2017 FINA World Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
Celebrating his 25th birthday on the bench, Izdinsky, who previously scored in a 13-7 loss to host Hungary (Friday, July 21) and an 11-10 defeat by Australia (Wedne
sday, July 19), watched as France recorded its first victory of the tournament as the team previously lost 18-9 versus Italy (Monday, July 17) to finish fourth in Group B during bracket play.
Down 4-3 after a quarter of play, France rallied back to pull even by halftime thanks to a 2-1 scoring advantage in the second quarter. From there, the French dominated the contest to outscore the Canadians 2-1 and 3-0 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, for a 10-6 win.
In a game marked by 26 ejections, Canada shot two-of-10 on man-up chances with France recording a two-for-16 performance on the power-play.
For France, Ugo Crousillat and Mehdi Marzouki both posted hat-tricks, with Igor Kovacevic, Dino Guillaume, Thibaut Simon and Mathieu Peisson each notching solo strikes.
The win places France into a 10:50 a.m. local/4:50 a.m. Eastern clash with the United States in the 13th place game of the tournament on Tuesday, July 25. Team USA earned its spot by downing South Africa, 13-4, immediately following France’s win versus Canada.
