ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's water polo team lost twice on Saturday at the Behrend Invitational. The Lions fell to Chatham 12-11 before Utica defeated Behrend, 10-9.
The Lions (0-6) were tied with both teams before last second goals clinched wins for the Cougars and Pioneers.
In game one, Behrend jumped out to a 3-2 lead after one quarter. MaryEllen Spooner (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) scored all three goals for the Lions. Chatham clamped down defensively in the second, only allowing an Emily Spicher (Falls Creek, PA/DuBois) goal to take a 5-4 lead into the break.
With the second half underway, Behrend found the offense from the first quarter. Spooner netted two more goals to go along with two by Lindsay Musoleno (Hatfield, PA/North Penn) and one by Anne Lawrence (State College, PA/State College). The Lions outscored the Cougars by one to tie the score at 9-all heading into the final quarter.
After only scoring one goal through the first seven minutes, Paula Rusca (Chicago, IL/Whitney Young) tied the game with 51 seconds remaining. With extra time looming, Chatham netted one final goal with four seconds on the clock to earn the 12-11 victory.
With the heartbreaking loss still in their minds, Behrend's offense struggled in the first half of game two, but a strong defensive effort kept them in the game. Despite only scoring two goals in the first half, the Lions were only down by one at the break.
In the third quarter, the offense came alive. Spooner continued to have a strong day with two goals. Musoleno added two more with Lawrence scoring one for a five-goal outburst. Utica answered with five of their own to maintain the one-goal lead at the end of three.
After Musoleno gave Behrend a 9-8 lead with four minutes to play, the Pioneers scored the game's final two goals with the last coming with 13 seconds left to slip by the Lions.
Spooner finished the two games with nine goals to lead Behrend offensively. Musoleno contributed six goals with Lawrence and Spicher each netting two.
The Lions will be back in action on Friday at the Collegiate Water Polo Assocation (CWPA) Region One Tournament at Wheaton, IL. Behrend will take on Macalester and Utica on Friday with game one set for 3 p.m.
