Canada came back from an early deficit to the take pool stage win and send England to our first defeat of the 2022 Women’s World Championship.
Britt Read had 11 saves for the match while Megan Whittle and Olivia Hompe both scored braces, but Canada’s draw specialist and superior shot percentage proved the difference.
England started the tie on the front foot and controlled the game well in the opening stages.
Megan Whittle and Olivia Hompe both scored and at the other end, Brittany Read was in brilliant form, making four first quarter saves to maintain a shut out and give England a 2-0 lead at the ¼ time.
And Q2 began in a similar vain, things being kept tight and the teams trading goals, including a superb effort from Emily Gray slinging in a long-range sidearm shot after Hompe pulled off a great pass under pressure from a double team.
With six minutes to play in the first-half, England held a 4-2 lead and were hoping to take the advantage in to the half.
However, two quick goals drew Canada quickly levels and then Dana Dobbie , who scored a couple of particularly eye-catching efforts and was a thorn in the side throughout, put Canada ahead.
The momentum was then really with the Canadians as Erica Evans scored a buzzer beater to go in 4-6 at the break.
England initially managed to stem the tide in Q3, including an outrageous no angle goal from Hompe, but every time they would score, Canada then responded with their own and managed to open up a three-goal advantage at ¾ time.
Read meanwhile continued to show her class, with another five saves in Q3. She played the full 60 minutes finishing with 11 saves and kept England in touch throughout.
However, Kay Morissette tallied a huge 14 draw controls for Canada, and her dominance at the circle was an issue for England being unable to calm Canada when they hit goalscoring streaks and hold unable possession.
This became more evident as the game wore on, again Canada hitting a four-goal run at the start of the 4th, to go 6-13 ahead.
However, this England team has shown many fighting qualities before and as always, they continued plugging away until the end; Whittle and Tilly Shires both scoring to reduce the final arrears as we out-shot Canada in the final quarter to go down 8-13.
It is now a 4th July match up against USA to round off the pool stages as our opponents for the elimination games are confirmed and we plan our path to the finals.
Catch the USA game at 5pm EST/10pm UK across BT Sport or ESPN Player.
England Points: Megan Whittle (2G 2A), Olivia Hompe (2G 1A), Claire Faram (1G), Liv Thomas (1G), Emily Gray (1G), Tilly Shires (1G), Torz Anderson (1A), Georgina Southorn (1A)
Canada Points: Alie Jimerson (3G), Dana Dobbie (2G 1A), Nicole Perroni (1G 2A), Erica Evans (2G), Madalyn Baxter (2G), Annabel Chid (2G), Aurora Cordingley (1G 1A)
