By Scott Padula
Contributing Writer
The women’s water polo team suffered a string of tough losses last weekend at the Maryland Invitational against George Washington, Wagner and the hosting team, the Terrapins. The losses set the team’s record to 4-3 for the season.
The Orange and Blue lost 10-8 against George Washington in their opener Saturday morning. The Colonials jumped out to a 6-4 lead by intermission and the Bison were unable to overcome the deficit despite mounting a furious comeback in the fourth quarter.
Despite the losing effort, several Bison recorded impressive numbers. Hallie Kennan ’12 netted four goals, while Haley Prickett ’11 set a new career high with five assists. The Bison also had strong performances in goal from Brittany Connell ’12 and Rena Heim ’14, who registered a combined 17 saves in 32 minutes of play.
In the Saturday nightcap, the Bison lost a nail-biter to Wagner, 13-12. The Orange and Blue held a late fourth quarter lead but could not stop the relentless Seahawk offense as Wagner found the back of the net six times in the final period.
Both Kandis Canonica ’11 and Julianne Valdes ’14 tallied three goals, while Kennan added two of her own. Canonica also dished out three assists in the losing effort. The Seahawk victory marked the first in school history against the Bison in 12 attempts.
“This weekend at Maryland was a real eye opener for a lot of our players. We have a game plan that requires every single player to be on the same page, if one person isn’t fully committed it won’t work.” Said Prickett. “Hopefully we can take these losses and use them as motivation as we prepare for the ECAC Championships this weekend.”
The Bison suffered another tough loss Sunday morning, this time 12-8 at the hands of Maryland. The Terrapins controlled the tempo as they took a 7-4 lead into the half. The Orange and Blue could not respond in the second half, falling as far as six goals behind and losing their first true road game of the season.
Eight different Bison registered points, including a pair of goals from Amanda Skonezney ’12 and Prickett as well as five assists from Canonica. Canonica’s five assists upped her career point total to 350. Canonica currently sits in third place on the University’s all-time scoring list; one behind Meagan Gins ’11 and eight behind record holder Aubrey Rowe ’11.
Said new head coach Paul Rave, “Like I told our women, though we are capable of being more dominant, sometimes it’s better to come away seeing how much potential still remains to be realized.”
The team will be back in action again this weekend when it hosts the ECAC Championship, with a first-round match against Iona Saturday at 12 p.m.
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