Canadian women fall short in gold-medal match

It was an auspicious start. 

The Canadian women's water polo team rammed home a goal to go 1-0 up inside the first few minutes of play against the United States in a battle for the gold medal. Driver Joelle Bekhazi slipped one in past US goalie Ashleigh Johnson and Canada were up and about. The near-capacity crowd at Markham's ATOS stadium were on their feet. It was the perfect start against a team which boasted a formidable Pan Am Games for and against goal record: 89-12. But even the ultimate optimists rooting for the home side  knew deep down  it was early days. The Canadians were playing the United States, a team steeped in success.

International water polo is played with the same physical intensity as hockey and soccer. And, certain things are a given: pregame national anthems, the introduction of the teams NBA style and the ball starts in the middle of the pool. But some things don’t run according to the script. Anyone who thought Canada’s fast and promising start had the makings of a gold-medal performance wound up being bitterly disappointed and shell-shocked based on what was to follow.

The U.S. duo of Courtney Mathewson and Margaret Steffens were unstoppable around the net. Each threw in four goals apiece and wiped the smiles from the sea of red to the extreme where the once deafening stadium was eerily quiet - especially during the goalless third period. The U.S. went on a 6-1 run to halftime and another impressive run of 7-2 in the second half. Canuck goalie Jessica Gaudreault, who turns 21 in a few days, was being peppered with shots and finished the game with 12 saves; the final 13-4 scoreline, along with eight post shots could have made the deficit more of a whitewash than it already was.

For the Canadians in the crowd – whoever were still left – and those who made their way over from the badminton courts for a quick sneaky look, the score of 6-2 flashing on the electronic scoreboard, was a constant reminder that there is night and day separating United States and Canada in women’s water polo. Looks of disbelief were glued on the faces of fans, parents and friends.

“We definitely focused on the mental game and tried to stay positive,” said 20-year old Canadian goalie Jessica Gaudreault after the game. The 5-foot-7 Ottawa native, who plays collegiate water polo for Indiana University, compiled 39 saves from 71 shots in four games at the Pan Ams. She said when the Canadians trailed 3-2 early, there was a feeling within the team they could win the match. But then momentum shifted in a flash with three unanswered goals right before the half which left the team at half time to answer two questions: how do we stop the U.S. onslaught and where are we going to find five goals?

Across from the media boxes, Gaudreault’s family and friends, a raucous group of 15 or so, stood hollering and chanting “CA-NA-DA!” for a majority of the match, even during the waves of U.S. goals. They even started a Mexican wave. Down the non-scoreboard end of the pool, homemade signs were draped over ledges “BRAVO DOM, GO TEAM CANADA”, “WE LOVE STEPH”, and “PROUD TO BE CANADIAN.” Almost every spectator wore red, and those “Road to Rio” shirts, which, has been made that much harder to achieve after claiming silver. Some fans donned red face paint and sweated through red wigs in the humidity of the chlorine filled air. The cacophonous fanfare rose and fell with the performance of Canada; for every goal they scored, there seemed to be four or five U.S. goals in return.

Canada was easily the second-best team at the Pan Ams. The hosts scored 59 goals in five matches, with three wins, a draw and a loss. Their best win came against Puerto Rico with a 19-5 result. Their biggest challenge, aside from the U.S., came against bronze medalist Brazil in their first match. Down 3-1, Canada scored three unanswered goals to take the lead and it was a nailbiter from there ending in a 7-7 draw. That’s exactly what didn’t happen in the gold medal match against the United States: stringing together back-to-back-to-back goals. Canada was forlorn and overwhelmed and left the pool Tuesday night trying to deal with the unanswered questions swirling inside their heads of why and how. 

Johanne Begin, the team's head coach for the past eight months, cited a goalless third period, better mental preparation and a lack in concentration as things that need to change in order to perform against slicker and powerful opposition.

“We were well prepared against them. We know them. We know they are pretty strong everywhere in the pool. We just need to deal with the stress of a big event better,” she said. “They’ve been winning for so many years they have the right attitude going into a game. It’s been a long time since we have won. That’s why the silver medal is one good step in the right direction. The States have been working on their system for, forever. We’re just not there yet.”

The loss means Canada must now perform at the World Championships in Russia and hope to earn a spot at next summer's Rio Olympics through the qualifiers. The team has little time to stew about losing the gold medal here: they will train in Montreal for three days before hopping on a plane for Russia. 

The one thing Begin said of her girls that stood out as a highlight in the face of disaster, was that they had a desire to fight.

"Yes, we lacked in concentration and precision but these girls tonight showed up at the game with the right spirit,” she said. “To go and fight for each ball right until the last second even if the score was pretty different.”