The Canadian women’s Paralympic goalball team gears up to take on Australia in their next match of the preliminary round.
The game will take place on Saturday at 9 a.m. JST, Friday at 8 p.m. EST.
Canada is heading into the match at 1-1 in the tournament. After a tough first-game loss to the Russian Paralympic Committee, the Canadians redeemed themselves in a 6-2 win over Israel on Thursday.
Currently sitting in the number three spot in Group C, Team Canada trails behind the RPC, which has won both of its games, and Israel, which also sits at 1-1.
In her team’s most recent match against Israel, Emma Reinke dominated on the court, scoring four goals and helping to hold up a defensive wall that stumped Israel.
Reinke is Canada’s top scorer of the tournament, making her mark as a Paralympic rookie. It is likely that she will make an appearance again in the match against Australia.
Alongside Reinke, Maryam Salehizadeh and Meghan Mahon currently have the most playing time on the team, but team captain and four-time Paralympian Amy Burk is an asset on the court as well, making 27 throws in the match against the RPC.
In Rio 2016, Burk was the only goal scorer in Canada’s win against Australia, leading her team to a 6-0 victory. Australia was ousted from the preliminary round while Canada was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
In Tokyo, Australia has only played one game, losing to Israel 11-1, forcing the mercy rule. Coming out of a win against Israel, Canada’s next game against the Aussies may seem like an easy win, but now isn’t the time to let their guard down.
Four of the five teams in each group will move on to the knockout stage, but Canada’s position is not secure yet. A win against number five team Australia would help to assure an advancement to the next stage of the tournament.
In a previous version of the story the time difference was confused and the wrong dates for Canada’s next game were printed. The Observer apologizes for the error.