Lions Beat Grove City; Fall to W&J at CWPA Championships

NEW LONDON, Ct. – The Penn State Behrend women's water polo team defeated No. 5 Grove City 14-6 and fell to No. 1 Washington & Jefferson 10-5 on day one of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships Saturday.

The Lions (7-17) defeated the Wolverines (7-15) and fell to the Presidents (16-5) for the third straight weekend.

Maryn Horn (Houston, TX/Jersey Village) and Clare Jefferys (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy)scored five goals in their game one win, while Lauren Wood (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills) added four more.  

Brittany Pinter (Erie, PA/McDowell) and Kara Stegmann (Harleysville, PA/Souderton Area) each dished three assists. Stegmann also added nine saves in net.

Behrend jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back. A 5-1 lead after the first quarter turned into an 8-3 lead at the half. They continued to build on the margin during the second half, outscoring Grove City 4-2 in the third and were an even 2-2 in the final frame to secure their third straight victory over the Wolverines.

Behrend was unable to get passed the No. 1 seed powerhouse Washington & Jefferson for the third time this year. The same three Lions who scored in game one scored in game two.

Jefferys notched a goal in the first, second and third quarter, Wood tallied one in the third and Horn got the final goal in the fourth. Their tallies kept the game close, but the Presidents' offense was just too difficult to stop.

Behrend got on the board first just over half way through the first, but five unanswered goals by W&J gave them lead they wouldn't look back from. A 5-2 halftime deficit for the Lions turned into 7-4 after three before the Presidents added three goals in the fourth to seal the win and a chance for the title tomorrow.

The Lions play in the third place game tomorrow morning at 11:40 a.m. against the loser of Carthage vs. Connecticut College.