ORADEA, Romania, March 6. CANADA will advance to the Men's Water Polo Olympic Qualifier playoff after a win against Macedonia today in Romania. Canada defeated the Macedonian team 12 to 7.
"Things are getting better as we progress in this tournament. Our tie with Italy yesterday gave us lots of confidence because that team was ranked higher than us going into the qualifier," said Nathaniel Miller.
Kevin Mitchell gave Canada the lead in the first period scoring off the counter in the third possession. Macedonia quickly responded with a goal two seconds after an expulsion for Canada. Both teams added two additional goals to end the first quarter 3-3.
Both team challenged each other trying to gain the lead. Canada was able to take a 6-5 lead at half time with goals from Nathaniel Miller and Aaron Feltham.
Canada manages to widen the gap early in the third quarter with strong performances from the left-handed player Jean Sayegh adding two extra goals to the board. Brandon Jung also adds a point for Canada to end the third with a 10-7 lead.
Fourth period is all Canada. Macedonia fails to score against the Canadian goaltender Nic Youngblud while Constantine Kudaba and Kevin Graham adds two goals for Canada ending the game 12-7.
Canada will play Mexico on Thursday. "If we play like we can, we should be able to defeat Mexico tomorrow. We tied Italy yesterday and defected Romania last year at World Championships so it is possible for us to qualify for the Olympics" added Miller.
Special thanks to Swimming Canada for contributing this report.