GWANGJU, Korea, Republic Of — Emma Wright scored twice but it wasn't enough as Canada lost to the Netherlands 5-4 on Saturday in the women's water polo tournament at the FINA world championships.
Hayley McKelvey and Kyra Christmas also scored for Canada, which will face China on Monday. The loss means the Canadians will miss out on the quarterfinals.
"It's never easy to meet one of the best European teams at the start of the playoff round, especially the Dutch who are ranked first in Europe right now," said Canada's Krystina Alogbo. "I am still proud of our team, because we have shown that we deserve to be among the best.
"Our defence was fantastic, but unfortunately we missed some opportunities on offence. Despite this result, we are still on the right track to achieve our objectives for the summer."
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first quarter but the Dutch broke the tie with two quick goals in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
McKelvey answered back for the Canadians to make it 2-1 but the Netherlands added two more goals before of the end of the quarter to show a 4-2 lead at halftime.
Wright scored her second of the day to make it a one-goal game at the end of the third quarter.
Sabrina Van der Sloot converted a penalty early in the fourth quarter to extend the Dutch lead and Christmas replied with one on the Canadian power play to put back her team within one goal with five minutes on the clock.
Despite a hard-pressing Canadian attack, the Netherlands hung on for the win.
The Canadian Press