Category: Water Polo

Andrew Arnao

Sports Editor

The women’s water polo team travelled to Rhode Island to participate in the Southern Championships last weekend where it finished fifth overall. The Bison fell by final scores of 13-4 against No. 12 Princeton and 8-7 against George Washington, but managed to rebound and defeat Mercyhurst 9-4.

The Bison got things started on April 13 against tournament top-seed Princeton. Princeton scored two early goals in the first quarter, then added five more goals in the second quarter to break it open. Facing a 7-1 deficit at halftime, the Bison managed to pick up the offensive pace in the second half, but could not stop the bleeding as Princeton scored six more goals. Krystle Morgan ’13 led the Bison offense with two goals, while goalie Rena Heim ’14 recorded five saves.

The game against George Washington looked much more promising for the Orange and Blue, as the Bison jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in the first quarter and held a 4-3 lead going into the second half. A 5-3 run by the George Washington squad put it back on top, and the Bison were unable to regain the lead. Heim recorded 11 saves for the Bison, while Tara Murao ’13 contributed with two goals and an assist.

After the tough set of games, the Bison returned on April 14 against Mercyhurst, a team they had already beaten twice this season. The Orange and Blue worked a 4-1 lead in the first half, and continued to score goals in the second half as they moved out of reach. Mackenzie Ferry ’14 scored three goals for the Bison, while Morgan added two goals and two assists. Heim had an outstanding game, matching her season-high 12 saves and limiting Mercyhurst to only four goals, tied for the fewest allowed by the Bison this year.

After a week off, the women’s water polo team will travel to Michigan for the Eastern Championship, which will take place next weekend.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

After a long hiatus, the women’s water polo team swam back into action last weekend and finished off its regular season on the road against Mercyhurst and Princeton. The Bison topped Mercyhurst 14-6 on April 6, but fell in their regular season finale to No. 12 Princeton 14-5 on April 7. The Orange and the Blue concluded their regular season with a record of 5-15 overall and 2-3 in CWPA Southern Division play.

Against Mercyhurst, the Bison jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter, and continued to pile on goals in the second quarter to gain an 8-2 advantage by halftime. Though Mercyhurst’s offense picked up in the second half, the Orange and the Blue allowed no more than two goals during any quarter, largely in part to goalie Rena Heim ’14 and her 10 saves. Leading the offense for the Bison were Taylor Barnett ’15 and Hannah Sunday ’16 with four goals each, while Barbara Peterson ’15 also found the back of the cage twice.

The Bison found a more challenging opponent in Princeton, the eighth nationally-ranked team the Orange and Blue have faced in the past month. The Bison were able to grab a 4-1 lead over Princeton in the first quarter, and went into halftime with the score tied 5-5. The Bison offense would be held scoreless for the remainder of the match, while Princeton went on a 9-0 scoring streak to put the match out of reach. Leading the Bison offense this time was Julianne Valdes ’14, with two goals and one assist, while Heim recorded 10 saves for the second straight game.

Next up for the Bison will be the Southern Championships, where they will once again face top-seeded Princeton. The Bison will travel to Brown University for this rematch on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s water polo team faced two tough opponents this past weekend in the team’s final matches before Spring Break. Despite their strong efforts, the Bison were unable to come away with a victory in either match, losing 13-9 to Harvard on March 2 and 11-3 to George Washington on March 3.

Against Harvard, the Bison came out strong in a back and forth battle. After a thrilling first half, the score was tied 5-5 with neither team seeming to have the advantage. As the second half began, Harvard took the advantage and rode an 8-4 second half to the victory. The Bison still saw several great performances from key players. In goal, Rena Heim ’14 had 10 saves, which is her fourth double-digit save game of the season. The nine goals scored by the Orange and Blue came from seven different players, with Stephanie Ovalle ’14 and Krystle Morgan ’13 leading the offense with two goals apiece. Julianne Valdes ’14, Mackenzie Ferry ’14, Tara Murao ’13, Hannah Sunday ’16 and Barbara Peterson ’15 also scored individual goals against Harvard.

After the tough loss, the Bison looked to record a win against conference foe George Washington and repeat their solid, balanced team effort from the day before. Unfortunately, this did not happen as George Washington had an early 4-2 lead after the first quarter and were able to maintain it until the end of the match. After the two goals in the first quarter, the Bison were unable to score again until they managed their third and final goal in the fourth quarter, while George Washington’s offense took off with seven more goals to put the match out of reach.

With these losses, the Bison drop to 3-4 on the season, with a 1-2 CWPA Southern Division Record. The team will now prepare for its 11-game Spring Break trip to California, which will begin at the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunner Invitational.

Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The Orange and Blue kicked off their season this past weekend at the Bison Invitational, where the Bison played in five matches against Mercyhurst, George Washington, Brown, Villanova and Marist. The Orange and Blue ended the weekend’s contests with a record of 3-2.

The Bison launched the weekend competition and their season with a 14-5 win over Mercyhurst. Highlight players of the game were Hannah Sunday ’16, Krystle Morgan ’13 and Julianne Valdes ’14. Sunday led the Bison with five goals, while Morgan and Valdes contributed three goals each. The Bison led the Lakers 7-1 at halftime, maintaining a lead of at least six goals throughout the second half.

Against George Washington, the Orange and Blue fell 10-9. The Bison outscored the Colonials 6-3 during the second half, but eventually gave way to George Washington’s offensive pressure. Sunday and Valdes each posted three goals for the Orange and the Blue in the loss.

The Bison then rebounded to defeat Brown 10-9. With the score tied 9-9 and just 1:36 left to play, Taylor Barnett ’15 scored the game-winning goal. To secure the victory, Rena Heim ’14 saved a shot on goal with less than a minute to go.

The Orange and Blue added to their wins with a 9-4 victory over Villanova. Sunday scored four goals, assisting in an 8-0 lead during the game. This win brought the Bison’s weekend record thus far to 3-1.

The Bison lost their final match of the weekend 9-6 to Marist. Entering the fourth quarter, the Bison trailed by only one goal. Within just under two minutes, the Red Foxes posted three goals against the Bison to put the match out of reach.

“This weekend was a great start to our season; it was a highly anticipated weekend because we had been practicing for so long. I think that the team played well together. We made a lot of mistakes but we now know exactly what we need to focus on in practice,” Sunday said.

After the opening weekend’s competition, the Bison will be back in action against Harvard and George Washington on March 2 and 3 .

Lindsay Regruto

Senior Writer

The women’s water polo team opened the Harvard Invitational with a 14-5 win against George Washington on March 3 but could not sustain its five-game winning streak falling to Harvard 13-8 and Iona 13-11 later on.

In their contest against Iona, the Bison started off close with the Orange and Blue in the lead, 4-3, at the end of the first period. The Gaels had pulled ahead by one goal by the end of the third period. Julianne Valdes ’14 posted three goals while teammates Becca Shopiro ’12, Tara Murao ’13, and Taylor Barnett ’15 found the net twice.

Hallie Kennan ’12 had a career-high five assists and scored six points, the most by any player this year. Despite a powerful offense, the Bison couldn’t close the gap in the end. Rena Heim ’14 concluded the weekend with a total of seven saves moving her into fifth place on the program’s career saves list with a total of 238 saves.

“It was a close game throughout,” Valdes said. “Although it ended in a tough loss, we know what we need to work on as a team as well as individually in order to win games like that.”

Harvard proved to be a tough opponent and the Bison closed the day with a 13-8 loss. The Orange and Blue got off to a slow start with the Crimson pulling ahead 8-4 by halftime. The Bison outscored Harvard 3-2 in the third period but couldn’t catch up. Amanda Skonezney ’12, Barnett, Kennan, Morgan and Valdes each posted two or more goals for the Bison.

“I don’t think we lost to Harvard because we lacked the skill, we just lacked the confidence,” Kennan said. “We lost to them earlier in the season and I think that made us a little fearful when we crossed them again. What we need to remember is that we are a much different team than we were even just a month ago. Our strategies and skills have improved a lot from our practices and we have everything we need to beat a team like them.”

The Orange and Blue offense came out strong on Saturday outscoring George Washington in every period. By halftime, the Bison had taken a 7-2 lead over the Colonials. Valdes and Barnett had three goals each and Kennan and Morgan scored twice.

The Orange and Blue will travel to Bakersfield, Calif. on March 10 for the Roadrunner Invitational. The Bison will face Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, Long Beach State, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara.

By Katherine Harris

Writer

Coming back from an early loss, the women’s water polo team rebounded for a strong 4-1 performance on the weekend at the CWPA/MAAC Crossover event hosted by Princeton University.

“We had a great week of practice and this weekend showed that our hard work is starting to pay off. It was a huge weekend for us and we came away with some much-needed big wins,” Julianne Valdes ’14 said.

The Bison traveled to Princeton on Friday to face the No. 18 home team in their first game of the weekend. Despite 11 saves from goalkeeper Rena Heim ’14 as well as a strong offensive showing of two goals and an assist from Valdes, the Orange and Blue were not able to stop Princeton’s scoring drive in the 12-6 loss.

The women quickly rebounded the next morning, as they played a solid Siena team. Bison scoring was balanced with 10 different players netting goals in the 12-5 victory, and Taylor Barnett ’15 played an impressive game, recording three goals and two assists for the Orange and Blue.

The Bison faced No. 20 Iona later in the day in a much closer match than the morning one, eventually prevailing 12-10. Heim had a season-high 13 saves, and the defense played an important role in the victory with their second quarter shutout giving the Orange and Blue offense a chance to pull ahead and take the lead. Hallie Kennan ’12 led the scoring, with her three goals and two assists placing her 10th all-time on the school record books for assists. Krystle Morgan ’13 (three goals) and Valdes (two goals and two assists) rounded out the offense for the Bison.

“We are starting to really come together as a team and I’m really excited for the rest of the season,” Valdes said.

The Orange and Blue entered the last day of the event hoping to improve on their 2-1 record for the weekend, and they did so, starting the day with an 11-6 victory over Villanova. The game was another one with very balanced team scoring, with eight different Bison scoring goals in the contest. Mackenzie Ferry ’14 shone for the Bison with four goals, and Heim had 10 saves, making it her third double-digit save game of the weekend.

On Sunday afternoon, the Bison played their final match of the weekend against Wagner, and having lost to them just last weekend, the team was out for payback. The Bison offense exploded with five players scoring multiple goals, and Heim once again anchored the defense with 12 saves. Valdes, Kennan and Morgan each recorded two goals and two assists for the Orange and Blue as the team pulled out a 11-9 victory to round out the weekend.

“We were very happy with our wins this weekend but we weren’t perfect,” head coach John McBride said. “It is a very long season and we still have quite a bit to work on but this weekend should give us the mental and physical foundation to build upon.”

With the 4-1 weekend, the Bison improved their total record to 7-6. Though their loss to Princeton put them at 0-2 in conference play, the women will have an opportunity to improve their record this weekend as they travel to the Harvard Invitational.