Women's Water Polo | February 21, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – Women's water polo will play in their first home game of the season when they host Princeton on Friday night. They return to Kirk Pool after claiming the first D-1 win in program history at the Mercyhurst Invitational last weekend. After their rendezvous with the Tigers, the Explorers will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Saturday for the Red Fox Invitational; they'll go up against Mercyhurst and MAAC rival Saint Francis Brooklyn.
 
ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

• La Salle went 1-3 in Erie, Pa. with the sole win a significant 11-10 triumph over Saint Francis (Pa.). They dropped games to McKendree, Gannon, and Salem.
• Sophomore Madison Martinez led the team with 10 goals followed by sophomore Sarah DeFusco with eight. Sophomore Karle Linden (six) and freshman Madelyn Koerper (five) were third and fourth respectively in scoring.
• DeFusco not only found the net often but also had her biggest impact as a provider. The sophomore paced the team with 11 assists, more than double her second-closest teammate (Martinez with five).
• Martinez topped everyone in exclusions earned with six to go with her team-high in goals. She also finished with three steals and a block.
• Linden was the most disruptive force on defense with six blocks and four steals. She added an assist to go along with her handful of goals.

 SCOUTING PRINCETON

• This is La Salle's third game against an Ivy League opponent this season; the Explorers fell to Brown and Harvard earlier in February. They have never faced Princeton in program history.
• The Tigers started their season going 1-3 with losses to two top-ten teams in Arizona State and UC-Santa Barbara. They have since bounced back, rattling off four consecutive wins.
• Princeton is led by junior Amy Castellano with 16 goals, 10 assists, and eight steals on the season. Senior Lindsey Kelleher paces the team in assists with 19.
• Game time: Friday at 7 p.m.

 SCOUTING MERCYHURST

• This is La Salle's second meeting with the Lakers in their history. Last season the Explorers narrowly fell 14-10.
• Mercyhurst began their season with a 1-3 record at their home pool. They most recently triumphed against VMI.
• Maddie Nye lead the Lakers this season in scoring with 14 goals while Michael Hershey is their top provider so far with six assists. 
• Game time: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

 SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS BROOKLYN

• The matchup against the Terriers is a prelude to the run of MAAC games to come later in the season. La Salle are 0-4 all-time vs Saint Francis, with their last game proving to be the closest contest in a 9-4 defeat.
• The Terriers are 1-4 on the season. They are on a two-game losing streak and most recently fell to La Salle's upcoming opponent Princeton.
• Sophomore Kelsey Snelgar leads the Terriers in scoring by some margin. The New Zealand native has 24 goals and three assists in five games--a point total three times higher than the Terrier's second-most prolific contributor (senior Nicole Herrick with nine points). Snelgar also has 12 steals on the season, tripling the second-closest pair of teammates on four.
• Game time: Saturday, 6 p.m.