WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College women's water polo team pulled off a Saturday split in a pair of matches of the CWPA Weekend at the Henry Memorial Natatorium. The Presidents fell 18-16 to Connecticut College in overtime to open the day before closing with a 16-14 win over Penn State Behrend.
 
Connecticut College 18, W&J 16 (Overtime)
 
After a back and forth first quarter, two goals from Anastacia Didovich (Venice, Fla. / Venice) coupled with a goal each from Emma Halle (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) and Mekkiye Ergun (Chicago, Ill./Lake View) had the Presidents leading the Connecticut Camels 4-3 after eight minutes of play.
 
The Camels would come out scoring in the second quarter and take the lead 5-4 at the 4:48 mark and add another with 12 seconds remaining. Halle and Laura Anthony (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) would be the only Presidents to score a goal in both the second and third quarter. Anthony's goal at the buzzer in the second quarter would take W&J into the second half tied 6-6 with Connecticut College.
 
Despite a score each from Halle and Anthony in the third, Connecticut College would tally three to take a 9-8 lead heading into the fourth.
 
W&J flashed some resilience in the fourth. The Presidents scored five times in the fourth to force overtime. Sydney Neumann (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) and Hallie Ratcliff (Friendswood, Texas / Friendswood) would each score two while Halle tallied the other score.
 
Connecticut College outscored W&J by a 5-3 margin in overtime. Halle scored two of the three goals in OT for W&J.
 
Halle finished with a team-high six goals against the Camels. Neumann finished with three goals in the narrow loss. 
 
W&J 16, Penn State Behrend 14
 
The Presidents would pull in front early on against Penn State Behrend. W&J scored the first four goals of the match behind a pair of goals by Anthony. The Lions answered the W&J early spurt with a score late in the first. The Presidents led 5-1 entering the second quarter.
 
W&J would hit an offensive slump and went scoreless in the second quarter. PSB tallied four goals to even things up at 5-5 going into halftime. 
 
Neumann and Ratcliff scored three times apiece in the third quarter. W&J eventually build a four-goal lead in the third before heading into the fourth with a 13-10 advantage. The seven goal output was the highest by any team in the game.
   
Both teams would only score one a piece for the first two minutes of the quarter. The score would then remain 14-11 until the 2:02 mark when PSB would break the scoring drought. Halle helped the Presidents hold off the Lions with a pair of late scores to secure the 16-14 win.
 
Halle would finish with a team-high five goals against the Lions. Neumann and Ratcliff both scored hat tricks during a balanced offensive effort.
 
UP NEXT:
W&J will take on Grove City at 9 a.m. in their final matchup of the CWPA Weekend on Sunday, March 10 in Henry Memorial Natatorium.


Goals vs. Connecticut College
Emma Halle - 6
Sydney Neumann - 3
Anastacia Didovich - 2
Laura Anthony - 2
Hallie Ratcliff - 2
Mekkiye Ergun - 1

Goals vs. Penn State Behrend
Emma Halle - 5
Hallie Ratcliff - 3
Laura Anthony - 3
Sydney Neumann - 3
Mekiyye Ergun - 1 
Anastacia Didovich - 1