Women's Water Polo | February 10, 2019
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- In their early game on the second day of the Bucknell Invitational, La Salle defeated Salem for a huge win in the program's brief history. The victory over the Division III school snapped a 37-game losing streak against NCAA-division competition. The Explorers then fell to nationally-ranked Bucknell in their final game of the Invitational.
COACH'S TAKE
- Head coach Tom Hyham recognized the Salem result as a fruition of his team's efforts in practice and ability to adapt in the pool: "The women prepared hard for this weekend and did a great job making adjustments on the fly. This is something we have been working on and it showed in the games this weekend. The win over Salem was the second consecutive game where we kept our opponents under 10 goals which is also a testament to their hard work. It's great to get their first win behind us and I am confident that we will build on the momentum."
La Salle 11, Salem 9
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was a back-and-forth game to begin the first quarter. Sarah Defusco opened the Explorers' account at the 6:50 mark, Salem scored, Madelyn Koerper made it 2-1, then Salem equalized again. That point--3:53 in the opening quarter--proved to be the only time the two teams broke even. La Salle opened up a 4-2 advantage courtesy of Kacie Cios and Karle Linden, before the Tigers brought a goal back to finish the first.
- La Salle got on the board in the second through Koerper to stretch the lead to 5-3 before Salem made it a one-goal game. Stephanie Morales and DeFusco then pushed the scoreline to 7-4; the plus-three goal margin would be the largest in the game, and the Explorers would hit that mark twice more later on.
- The two teams split the third quarter with one goal apiece. The Tigers' Maryanna Antoniou found the back of the net with 6:51 remaining in the fourth to make it a 8-7, but that would be the closest Salem ever came. Two quick goals within a minute of each other from DeFusco put the score at 10-7; Salem would score twice, sandwiched by another goal from La Salle's number eight, to finish the match at 11-9. The Explorers never trailed.
- DeFusco led the way in scoring, hitting the back of the net five times, while Koerper (three goals) was the other Explorer with multiple strikes. The pair also led the team in exclusions draw with two each.
- Morales was the top creator on the night with three assists, while goalie Jenny Fermaintt followed with two. Jillian Delisle recorded the high in steals with two on the day.
- Fermaintt, along with her penchant to provide for her teammates, finished with six saves and a 40 percent save percentage.
Bucknell 16, La Salle 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
- La Salle trailed 5-0 after the first quarter. Charley Stricker scored in the second quarter to get the Explorers onto the board with the score at 8-1.
- Bucknell went on a 6-0 run to start the second half, extending the lead to 14-1. Ann Cho struck one back for La Salle in the fourth, but the Bison pulled away to make it 16-2.
- Bucknell had six women with multi-goal games against La Salle. Part of that group was Coach Hyham's daughter, Kali Hyham, who scored against her father's team twice.
- The Explorers tallied five exclusions drawn in the match, with four of them coming in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
- The women's team will look to add to the win column next weekend when they take part in the Mercyhurst Invitational on February 16 and 17. They'll face off against opponents from this season (Saint Francis (Pa.) and Salem), a team from last season (Gannon), and a team they've never faced before (McKendree).
