IFAF Women’s World Championship: Team Canada gets by Australia in opening game

A pair of second-half touchdowns keyed Team Canada to a 33-6 victory over No. 7-ranked Australia in the quarterfinals of the IFAF Women’s World Championship in Vantaa, Finland, on Saturday.

After the teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter, the second-seeded Canadians broke open the 6-6 tie as Hallie Eggie scored from one yard out on the first play of the second, and they doubled their lead late in the half as Nura Muhindo recovered a fumble in the end zone to give Canada a 20-6 lead at halftime.

The other Team Canada touchdowns came on a first-quarter catch by Laurence Pontbriand and a fourth quarter run by Sarah Wright while Kristie Elliott made a pair of second-half field goals to round out the Team Canada scoring.

Jordan DiMizio scored Australia’s only touchdown, on a 17-yard pass from Isabella Paholek.

Canada put up 398 yards of total offense, while holding Australia to just 143 and made 18 first downs to Australia’s 10.

Canadian starting quarterback Maude Lacasse went 10-for-17 for 133 yards and had a touchdown and an interception. Reid Thorstad came in late in the game and completed two of three attempts for 44 yards.

Hanna McEwen led the Canadian ground attack with 84 yards on nine carries, while Kasey McCombs had 13 carries for 55 yards. Virginie Roussel led all receivers with 86 yards on 19 catches.

For Australia, Paholek went 8-for-24 for 86 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. DiMizio was Australia’s leading rusher, with four carries for 33 yards, and their leading receiver, with seven catches for 52 yards.

Joanie Duchesneau led Canada defensively with eight tackles, including a tackle for loss. Harmine Christine Léo picked up five tackles in her national team debut, while Haley Girolami had Canada’s only interception.

Dania Herdman led the Australian defensive effort with eight tackles, while Shannon Whale had the Australian interception.

With the win, Canada advances to Wednesday’s semifinals, where they will play No. 6-seeded Great Britain. Great Britain advanced via a forfeit, after Mexico failed to appear at the tournament. The kickoff time for that game is yet to be announced.

The game will be streamed on CBC Gem via the Olympic Channel, and on the Football Canada YouTube channel.

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