Women's Water Polo | March 2, 2019

CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Women's water polo split the first day of the Convergence Tournament with a win over a Fresno Pacific and a loss vs. Concordia. The California trip produced an impressive start before the Explorers gradually lost steam in the second game.
 
La Salle 14, Fresno Pacific 13
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Explorers and Sunbirds traded goals to start the game, a trend which continued into the second quarter. La Salle eventually took a 6-4 lead courtesy of back-to-back goals by sophomore Madison Martinez and freshman Madelyn Koerper.
• Fresno Pacific responded with a pair of goals to tie the game up until Koerper pushed La Salle ahead at the half. 
• The Sunbirds started the third at a rapid pace, scoring three straight to nudge ahead. Martinez and sophomore Jillian Delisle got on the scoresheet between three Fresno strikes.
• La Salle's biggest move of the game began at 6:41 left in the fourth as sophomore Karle Linden netted, followed by three straight Explorer goals. Although the Sunbirds equalized late, with 1:28 remaining, junior Katelynn Kubo talied the winning goal with less than a half a minute left.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Five Explorers recorded multi-goal games. Sophomore Sarah DeFusco led the team with four goals, while Koerper (three), Delisle (two), Martinez (two) and Linden (two) were all prolific in the game.
• Delisle and junior Jenny Fermaintt led the team in assists with three and two respectively. Martinez topped La Salle with three exclusions earned.

 Concordia 15, La Salle 3
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Concordia jumped out to a two goal lead before DeFusco brought one back for the Explorers with 4:27 left.
• The Eagles went on a tear after La Salle had responded, however, scoring 11 unanswered.
• It wasn't until three minutes left in the final quarter that La Salle got on the board again, with both of their final strikes coming from DeFusco.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DeFusco recorded all of La Salle's goals in this game with three on the night.
• Seven different Explorers finished with one steal on the night, while Delisle led the team in exclusions earned with two.
• In goal, Fermaintt recorded seven saves on 17 shots for a save percentage of 41.2%.

 UP NEXT

• La Salle continue with another day of the Convergence Tournament on Saturday. They face Sonoma State at noon and Chapman at 6:15 p.m.