Monika Eggens and the Canadian women’s water polo team lost 12-10 to Spain in the semi-finals of the FINA World Championships on Wednesday in Budapest.
The Pitt Meadows athlete will now be part of a Canadian team that plays for bronze against Russia on Friday.
Eggens put team Canada on her back and carried it past a water polo powerhouse Monday.
Monika Eggens blasted five of Canada’s six goals as the Canuck women beat hometown Hungary 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The win guaranteed Canada of playing for a medal, after having not qualified for the semis since 2009. That year they won silver.
Canada’s semi-final goes today against Spain. The other semi-final will see Russia against the United States.
Eggens, 26, is a former Haney Neptune, longtime national team member, was with the University of Hawaii, and now plays for Orizzonte Catania in Italy.
She first put on the Maple Leaf as a junior in 2007, and she and sister Carmen helped Canada win silver together with the 2009 team FINA Water Polo World League Super Final.Eggens went on to help Canada win silver at the 2011 Pan Am Games and was a member of the FINA World Championship squads that finished eighth in 2011 and 2013.
In her four years at the University of Hawaii, Eggens became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 252 goals in 115 games and set a single season record with 101 goals as a senior.