Team Canada has reached the semifinals in men’s water polo at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. On Thursday, in the quarterfinals, Canada beat Mexico 20-5.
Nicolas Constantin Beccari of Montreal, Quebec led Canada in scoring with five goals. Matthew Haladjian of Toronto, Ontario scored four goals. Bogdan Derkovich of Ottawa, Ontario, and Jeremy Cote of Montreal each had six tricks, while Jaylan Patterson of North Vancouver, British Columbia, had two goals. The Canadians with one goal were Leo Hachem of Montreal, Alexa Jardigan of Gatineau, Quebec, and Ruel D’Souza of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Team Canada was dominant in every quarter against Mexico. They were outscored 4-0 in the first quarter, 7-3 in the second quarter, 4-1 in the third quarter, and 5-1 in the fourth quarter.
On Friday, Canada will play Brazil in one of the two semi-final matches. Brazil beat Cuba 16-6 in the first match of the quarter-finals on Thursday. In other quarterfinal results, Argentina beat Puerto Rico 20-9, and the United States beat Chile 28-2. In the 26-goal American victory, Ryder Dodd scored an impressive eight goals. Argentina will face the United States in the other semifinal. The winners of Friday’s semifinals will play for the All-American gold medal on Saturday with an Olympic berth at stake in 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
