Carthage Edges Lions, 7-5

Carthage Edges Lions, 7-5

GROVE CITY, Pa. - In the first game of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championships, the Penn State Behrend women's water polo team fell to Carthage, 7-5.

Carthage (9-5) was able to take an early lead in the contest with two goals in the first quarter and four in the second giving them a 6-2 lead at the half.

Maryn Horn (Houston, TX/Jersey Village) got the Lions (6-14) on the board in the first quarter with a goal at the 4:20 mark that knotted the score up at one. Horn struck again with a goal with 4:17 to play before the half to tie the score at two.

Kaitlyn Conely (Exeter, CA/Exeter) notched her first goal of the game just 17 seconds into the second half that cut the Carthage lead to three.

The Lions kept themselves in the game with a strong defensive effort led by Kara Stegmann (Harleysville, PA/Souderton Area) in the second half. Behrend held Carthage to just one goal in the second half, but could not complete the comeback. Carthage was able to net one goal in the fourth quarter giving them a slight security blanket. Stegmann finished the game with 11 saves in the net and two steals.

Horn and Conely accounted for the five goals for the Lions. Horn notched three goals while Conely added two.

Behrend will look to rebound tomorrow morning when they face the number seven seed Utica. The game will take place at 10:20 a.m. The winner will advance to play in the fifth place game at 3:40 p.m.