Women's Water Polo | February 23, 2019
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Women's water polo picked up their third and fourth wins of the season, including their second D-I win in program history. They reached rarified air at the Red Fox Invitational with their first ever multi-win day. La Salle joins three other MAAC teams (Iona, VMI and Wagner) to record two wins in one day this season after defeating Mercyhurst 10-8 and Saint Francis Brooklyn 9-7.
La Salle 10, Mercyhurst 8
HOW IT HAPPENED
- La Salle jumped out to a 2-0 lead courtesy of sophomore Madison Martinez. The Lakers got one back before sophomore Sarah DeFusco stretched the lead to 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.
- Junior Stephanie Morales scored to start the second before Mercyhurst struck back with three goals to tie the game up at 4-4. Freshman Madelyn Koerper scored to take a slime one-goal lead into the half.
- La Salle allowed two straights goals to start the third and trailed 6-5 at the 2:26 mark before Koerper found the net to lock the game up heading into the final frame.
- Two strikes from DeFusco and another Koerper finish pulled La Salle in front, permanently. The Lakers responded, junior Katelynn Kubo answered in kind and Mercyhurst netted one last time but the Explorers pulled out the close win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- DeFusco and Koerper paced the team with three goals apiece. The rookie connected on three of her four shots while DeFusco had a hattrick on seven shots. Martinez was the other Explorer with a multi-goal game, scoring twice.
- Kubo was the top provider with three assists while four others had one in the game.
- Three-for-three thefts: three Explorers recorded three steals against the Lakers. Sophomores Jillian Delisle and Karle Linden, along with DeFusco, all hit the triple mark.
- In net, junior Jenny Fermaintt recorded six saves on 14 shots for a 42.9% save percentage. She also added an assist and steal for good measure.
La Salle 9, Saint Francis Brooklyn 7
HOW IT HAPPENED
- La Salle started out in front courtesy of Linden. While the Terriers quickly responded, DeFusco netted to move the Explorers in front at the end of the first quarter.
- The Explorers shut down Saint Francis in the second frame with a 3-0 quarter. Juniors Ann Cho, Racquel Jimenez and Kubo each tallied to extend La Salle's lead to 5-1.
- Freshman Charley Stricker struck to extend the margin to a five-goal advantage. The Terriers bit back, Martinez and Koerper countered and the penultimate quarter concluded at 9-5 favoring La Salle.
- The Explorers held on but suffered a scare in the fourth. Saint Francis scored twice to make it a two-goal game but La Salle blanked Saint Francis in the final two-and-a-half minutes to secure their second win on the day.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Martinez was the top goal scorer in the game with three finishes. Two other Explorers, Delisle and Koerper, recorded multi-goal games with two each.
- La Salle's number nine had a fantastic all-around game against the Terriers. Along with her goals, she also tallied team-highs in assists (three) and steals (four), plus two exclusions earned and one block.
- DeFusco, normally ever-present on the offensive side, had a notable impact on the other side of the pool. The transfer from the University of Pacific finished with three blocks, two exclusions earned, and a steal…along with a goal and an assist.
- Linden was the other all-around performer against the Terriers. She recorded a goal on three shots, with an assist, a steal, an exclusion earned and a block.
UP NEXT
- The Explorers head west to California for the Convergence Tournament. On Friday they'll face Fresno Pacific at 12:30 p.m. and Concordia at 4:15 p.m. Then they take on assistant coach Lindsay Rangel's alma mater Sonoma State at 9:00 a.m. Saturday before concluding their west-coast excursion with Chapman at 3:15 p.m.
