ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State women's water polo team fell to No. 3 Connecticut College 10-5 and then defeated No. 2 Monmouth 9-8 on day one of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships Saturday.
The Lions (7-11) lost to the Camels (7-7) for the second time this season, but knocked off the Fighting Scots (6-9) for the first time this year.
Maryn Horn (Houston, TX/Jersey Village) scored three goals in the game one loss, while Lauren Wood (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills) and Devon Van Rensburg (Johannesburg, South Africa/Crawford) added one goal each.
Alison McClure (Loveland, OH/Milford) and Rensburg led Behrend's defense with five and three steals respectively. Holly Rae Hanson (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Rancho Cucamonga) posted six saves in net for the Lions.
Connecticut College jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back. A 2-0 advantage after the first quarter turned into a 7-3 lead at the half. It wasn't until midway through the second period where Horn got the Lions on the board.
Behrend was unable to get past Connecticut College's defense, only recording two second half goals. The Camels tallied three goals in the second half to end the score at 10-5.
In game two, Behrend bounced back to defeat the No. 2 seed Monmouth for the first time in three years.
JoJo Gager (Holland, MI/West Ottawa) dropped five goals and Hanson stopped 16 shots in the upset over the Fighting Scots. McClure and Wood each registered three steals while Horn posted two steals herself. Horn and Jenessa Islas-Parker (Palatine, IL/Frema) also dished out two assists each.
Gager got Behrend on the board first just over a minute into the game. With 3:43 left in the first, Rensburg tallied her first goal of the game to extend the lead to 2-0. However, Monmouth was able to score two unanswered goals of their own to even the score at 2-all.
From there on, it was a back-and-forth battle for majority of the game. When the Lions scored, the Fighting Scots responded with a goal to keep the game tied.
In the fourth with the game at 6-all, Gager and Horn notched back-to-back goals to give Behrend a two goal advantage with just over four minutes left to play.
Monmouth battled back to add one more goal, but Gager sealed the game with 1:11 remaining by adding her fifth goal of the match.
The Lions play in the fifth place game tomorrow morning at 10:20 a.m. against Grove City.