November 26, 2022
Banner Season: Queen's, Western prevail in championship openers to set up semifinals
Hamilton, Ont. - The OUA Water Polo Championship semifinals have been set after the opening day of competition. The Queen's Gaels will face the Carleton Ravens in Saturday's first semifinal, while the Western Mustangs will match up with the five-time defending champion, Toronto Varsity Blues.
The host McMaster Marauders were knocked out of semifinal contention in the opening round of the OUA Water Polo Championship by Queen's. The Marauders opened the tournament's scoring with a goal from Michael Djurdjevic but the Gaels responded. After the opening quarter, McMaster led Queen's 4-3. The Gaels earned their first lead of the game in the second, netting three of their shots to hold a 6-5 advantage at the half. The Tricolour came out of the break hot, scoring three unanswered goals in the third enroute to a 14-9 victory. The host Marauders were led by their veteran, Colin Colterjohn, who tallied five goals in the contest while JP Leblanc and James Crowe were the Gaels' scoring leaders with four apiece.
Queen's will now clash with the Carleton Ravens in the first semi-final of Day 2, set for 3pm.
The day's second match featured the Western Mustangs and Ottawa Gee-Gees. Despite a short bench, it was the Gee-Gees who started the game strong, scoring first to hold a 6-4 lead after the first quarter. The second frame was quiet on both sides with a combined three shots finding the back of the net. Ottawa led 7-6 at the half. After the break, both the Gee-Gees and Mustangs found their offence. Western was down 8-6 early on, but fought their way back to a 10-10 scoreline with one quarter remaining. The Mustangs wouldn't miss many in the fourth and took care of business, earning a 16-13 victory to book their spot in the semifinal. Duncan Suffield led Western with five goals while Robert Djukic netted 7 of the Gee-Gees' 13 goals.
The Mustangs will face a tough test when they return to the pool on Saturday as they face the No. 1 seeded Varsity Blues. That matchup begins at 4:15pm.
With the opening round loss for both squads, the McMaster Marauders will now face the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a consolation game on Saturday set for 6:45pm
The host McMaster Marauders were knocked out of semifinal contention in the opening round of the OUA Water Polo Championship by Queen's. The Marauders opened the tournament's scoring with a goal from Michael Djurdjevic but the Gaels responded. After the opening quarter, McMaster led Queen's 4-3. The Gaels earned their first lead of the game in the second, netting three of their shots to hold a 6-5 advantage at the half. The Tricolour came out of the break hot, scoring three unanswered goals in the third enroute to a 14-9 victory. The host Marauders were led by their veteran, Colin Colterjohn, who tallied five goals in the contest while JP Leblanc and James Crowe were the Gaels' scoring leaders with four apiece.
Queen's will now clash with the Carleton Ravens in the first semi-final of Day 2, set for 3pm.
The day's second match featured the Western Mustangs and Ottawa Gee-Gees. Despite a short bench, it was the Gee-Gees who started the game strong, scoring first to hold a 6-4 lead after the first quarter. The second frame was quiet on both sides with a combined three shots finding the back of the net. Ottawa led 7-6 at the half. After the break, both the Gee-Gees and Mustangs found their offence. Western was down 8-6 early on, but fought their way back to a 10-10 scoreline with one quarter remaining. The Mustangs wouldn't miss many in the fourth and took care of business, earning a 16-13 victory to book their spot in the semifinal. Duncan Suffield led Western with five goals while Robert Djukic netted 7 of the Gee-Gees' 13 goals.
The Mustangs will face a tough test when they return to the pool on Saturday as they face the No. 1 seeded Varsity Blues. That matchup begins at 4:15pm.
With the opening round loss for both squads, the McMaster Marauders will now face the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a consolation game on Saturday set for 6:45pm
