Category: Water Polo

By Scott Padula

Writer

The women’s water polo team went 1-3 last weekend during the Bison Invitational, beating Siena but falling to Brown, Wagner and No. 16 Hartwick.

The Orange and Blue started the tournament with a 13-7 victory over Siena but didn’t fare as well in their next three games. After falling to Brown 8-7 on Saturday night, the Bison closed out the tournament by losing to Wagner 9-8 and Hartwick 15-9. The Orange and Blue are now 3-5 on the season.

Against Siena, the Bison scored early and often, finding the back of the net eight times in the first two quarters. More impressively, the Bison played shutdown defense and prevented the Saints from scoring in the first 13:55 of play. During that time, Taylor Barnett ’15 led the Bison first half scoring barrage with three goals and an assist. Joining her with multi-goal performances were teammates Ariel Frankeny ’12 and Sayeh Bozorghadad ’15. In total, 12 different Bison received a point, while the team registered a season-high 22 steals. Orange and Blue goalie Brittany Connell ’12 also made a strong contribution with five saves in 32 minutes of play.

During Saturday’s nightcap, the Bison held a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter but were unable to stop the relentless Brown attack. The Bears scored four goals in the first four minutes of the second quarter and never looked back. Amanda Skonezney ’12 and Barnett led the Bison in scoring, netting three and two goals respectively, while Julianne Valdes ’14 and Hallie Kennan ’12 also had multi-point games with three and two assists respectively. Additionally, Connell was a wall for the Orange and Blue in goal, making a career-high 14 saves and shooting her career total above 200 saves. Before the game, the Bison honored their five seniors for their commitment and contributions to the program.

“I would say these close losses early in the season are good opportunities to learn from. We knew we could win all those games, and while we played our hearts out it just reminds us that we can and need to play a little harder to secure the win. We face most of those teams again and we are confident we can walk away with the win,” Valdes said.

After scoring four early goals against Wagner on Sunday, the Bison lost momentum as the Seahawks rattled off seven straight goals. Skonezney ended the drought with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Less than a minute later, Heather Smith ’14 scored to bring the Bison within one, but the Orange and Blue were unable to score another goal and send the game to overtime.

Kennan led all Bison in points with four assists, while Smith and Barnett each scored a pair of goals. Rena Heim ’14 was also strong in goal for the Bison with a total of seven saves in 32 minutes of play.

“This weekend was tough because all of our small mistakes piled together to create our losses,” Barnett said. “As a whole, we all just need to work on the little things this week in practice. But I think from the Wagner game this weekend we learned that even if we are up we can’t play down to their level.”

In the final game of the weekend, the Bison were unable to overcome a six-goal first quarter by the Hawks and a four-goal deficit going into the half. In goal, Heim recorded another seven saves in 32 minutes of action, pushing her total to a team-high 32 saves on the seasons.

The Bison will continue their busy schedule as they head to Princeton this weekend for the Princeton Invitational. The Orange and Blue will first play CWPA rival and host team Princeton before facing four MAAC opponents.

By Scott Padula

Staff Writer

The women’s water polo team started its 2012 season with two wins and two losses last weekend at the Princeton Invitational. The Bison opened the tournament by dropping games to Harvard 14-5 and Colorado State 9-7. The Orange and Blue were able to turn things around on Sunday by defeating George Washington 16-8 before wrapping up the weekend with a 9-3 win over Mercyhurst.

In the first game of the invitational, the Orange and Blue matched Harvard in the first quarter but could only post one goal in the second as Harvard took a 7-3 lead into the half. The Bison could not overcome the deficit in the second half.

Hallie Kennan ’12 led the Orange and Blue in points with two goals and two assists. Krystle Morgan ’13 was another highlight for the Bison with six ejections drawn. Stephanie Ovalle ’14, Taylor Barnett ’15 and Shannon Carroll ’13 also registered points for the Bison. Rena Heim ’14 was also impressive for the Orange and Blue, recording 10 saves.

In the nightcap, the Orange and Blue fell behind early, allowing Colorado State to score six goals in the first quarter. Behind the tutelage of first year head coach John McBride, the Orange and Blue tightened their defense and mounted a furious comeback. Although they only allowed three goals over the next three quarters, the Bison were unable to steal a come-from-behind victory. Kennan, Amanda Skonezney ’12 and Morgan all scored two goals while Skonezney also recorded two assists. Heim had another good game in goal, making eight saves.

In their first action Sunday, the Bison started the game strong against George Washington, taking a 9-6 advantage into the intermission and never looking back. Skonezney, Heather Smith ’14, Julianne Valdes ’14, Morgan and Barnett were among the Orange and Blue to find the back of the net at least twice. In total, 12 different Bison registered a point.

In the final game of the weekend, the Orange and Blue dominated the first half, outscoring Mercyhurst 8-0. The impressive defensive effort was marked by denying the Lakers 10 out of 11 times in six-on-five situations. Skonezney and Barbara Peterson ’15 carried the load on offense, accounting for seven of the nine goals. Other Bison who registered a point included Kennan, Carroll, Smith and Brittany Connell ’12. Aside from recording an assist, Connell was also solid in net with four saves.

“The first day was still a learning experience for us. We’ve been practicing only against each other for the past month so figuring out how to defend or score against other teams took some time. By the second day of games we started playing our type of water polo. We made significant improvements by our fourth game and we hope to pick up where we left off for our home tournament this upcoming weekend,” Kennan said.

The Orange and Blue have four more games this weekend when they host the Bison Invitational. The Bison will face Siena and Brown on Saturday before they see Wagner and No. 15 Hartwick on Sunday.