WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College women's water polo team split a pair of one-goal decisions Saturday on Senior Day at Henry Memorial Natatorium. The Presidents downed the Wittenberg Tigers by an 11-10 score in the opener Saturday. W&J dropped a tough 9-8 decision to Division II Gannon University in Saturday's finale.
Prior to the start of the day's action, the Presidents honored their seniors,
Jillian Curtis (Woodland Hills, Calif. / El Camino Real Charter),
Megan DePrez (Claremont, Calif. / Claremont),
Ryley McClellan (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and
Kate McKiernan (Columbus, N.J. / Pennington) for their contributions and dedication over the past four years.
W&J 11, Wittenberg 10
Laura Anthony (Erie, Pa. / Villa Maria Academy) powered the Presidents offense in the narrow win over the Tigers. The sophomore matched the game high with five goals.
W&J trailed 2-1 after the first quarter but battled back in the second quarter to regain the lead. Anthony scored a pair of second quarter goals and W&J shut out the Tigers in the frame to allow the Red and Black to lead 3-2 at halftime.
DePrez and sophomore
Sydney Neumann (Long Beach, Calif. / Millikan) scored back-to-back in the third to extend the Presidents lead to 5-2 with 3:35 remaining in the quarter. Anthony and McClellan both scored in the final 1:17 of the quarter to help W&J carry a 7-4 lead into the fourth.
Wittenberg narrowed the deficit to 7-6 by scoring the first two goals of the fourth. However, DePrez and Anthony helped W&J respond, as the duo scored a goal each to make it 9-6 with 4:26 to play. Wittenberg found its stride late in the game. The Tigers scored four of the next five goals to tie the score at 10-10 with 1:49 remaining. W&J remained resilient and regained the lead for good on a goal by Anthony with 1:15 to play.
Aside from Anthony's strong effort, three other Presidents finished with multiple goals in the win over the Tigers. DePrez, McClellan and Neumann all registered two goals apiece.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Alliey Cunningham (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township) registered 13 saves in the victory.
Gannon 9, W&J 8
The Presidents dropped a heartbreaking one-goal decision in their second game of the day. Facing Division II Gannon, the Presidents battled and leads throughout the game before falling short.
Five different Presidents scored in the game, which included two goal efforts by Anthony and
Anastacia Didovich (Venice, Fla. / Venice).
Gannon held a 4-3 lead after a back and forth first quarter. A goal each by Didovich and Neumann helped the Presidents pull even with a 5-5 score at halftime.
Freshman
Sky Wald (Granada Hills, Calif. / John F. Kennedy) scored her first collegiate goal to give W&J a 6-5 lead in the third quarter. Gannon countered with a pair of scores to take a 7-6 lead into the fourth.
Both teams scored two goals in the fourth quarter. W&J trimmed the deficit to 9-8 with 19 seconds to play when Anthony scored. However, Gannon was able to pull out the one-goal victory.
Cunningham did her part to keep the Presidents within striking distance, as the sophomore finished with 17 saves against the Golden Knights.
UP NEXT:
W&J heads to Erie, Pa. for four conference matches next weekend. The Presidents face Utica and Grove City on Saturday, March 18 before challenging the host Lions and Connecticut College on Sunday, March 19.
