Women's Water Polo | February 7, 2020

PHILADELPHIA – Women's water polo continues its 2020 campaign with the Bucknell Invite this weekend, playing four games over three days. The Explorers will look for their second win of the new season over George Washington on Friday, followed by matchups with Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday and Mercyhurst and LIU on Sunday.

ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

• La Salle has a chance to jump above .500, currently sitting at 1-2 after hosting the La Salle Invite last weekend.
• The junior class paved the way on offense to start the year: Sarah DeFusco, Karle Linden, Madison Martinez and Jillian DeLisle combined for 22 goals and 19 assists.
• Those same four also made their presence felt on the defensive side. DeFusco led the team in steals with 10, Linden paced everyone in blocks with five and DeLisle had the most exclusions earned with seven. Martinez finished with four steals and two blocks.
• Freshman highlights include Sophie Appler's hattrick debut vs. George Washington, Caitlin Valentine's 19 saves (on 34 shots) over the first two games, and Casey Malone's first career goal vs. Salem.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS

• George Washington has begun its year with a 1-3 mark. La Salle defeated the Colonials 12-10 in the season opener last Saturday.
• Junior Alana Ponce is certainly the player to watch for the Colonials, scoring 19 times and assisting four. She also has eight blocks, nine exclusions earned and five steals. She finished with five goals the first time around against La Salle.
• Game time: Friday, 7 p.m.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH

• Saint Francis split its opening weekend at the Bruno Classic, going 2-2.
• The Red Flash leaned on their youth over those four games with 19 goals between freshmen Taylor Halbauer and Abbie Carter.
• La Salle tallied a 1-2 record against Saint Francis in 2019. The most recent tilt on February 16th went the Explorers' way, 11-10.
•  Game time: Saturday, 12:45 p.m.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

• This weekend marks the start of Mercyhurst's 2020 campaign. Last season, the team went 8-18 overall and 1-3 at home.
• The Explorers emerged with a 10-8 victory last time out against the Lakers.
• Game time: Sunday, 8 a.m.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS

• LIU picked up its first win of its inaugural season last weekend, defeating Austin College at the Bruno Classic. The Shark fell to Brown, Whittier and Saint Francis (Pa.) in their other fixtures.
• Game time: Sunday, 4:45 p.m.