Women's Water Polo | March 12, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – After some shuffling around, women's water polo is set to begin its season on Saturday at Kirk Pool. The Explorers open with a double header against #21 Bucknell before finishing the day with a matchup vs. Gannon. On Sunday, La Salle travels to Villanova to play Salem and Mount St. Mary's in neutral site contests. For the three home games, a stream will be available on the La Salle Athletics YouTube channel, while live stats will be present on The Fosh.
 
ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

• 371 days, tomorrow, will be the length of time since the previous season ended on March 7th, 2020. That weekend, the Explorers won three games in a weekend for the first time in program history. Now they'll look to better that feat this weekend with five games slated.
• The Explorers are coming off a 2020 season where they went 8-10 and increased their winning percentage from .303 in 2019 to .444.
• Senior Sarah DeFusco, recently named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, returns to lead the offense. She paced the Explorers in goals (63) and total points (86).
• On defense, senior Karle Linden will continue in her role as the enforcer of the team. She paced La Salle in blocks (19) and was tied for first in steals (22).
• Also back are senior Madison Martinez and junior Madelyn Koerper, both of whom look to play big roles this year. Martinez was second on the team in goals (30), while Koerper was third in scoring (18) and led the team in exclusions earned (31).
• Sophomores Shanna Zuanich, Casey Malone and Sophie Appler all have the potential for a second-year leap after making strong impressions their rookie year. Appler started fast with eight goals and six assists in her first six games, while Zuanich and Malone came on strong in California. Zuanich led all freshmen in goals (16), assists (16) and exclusions earned (21). Malone finished the season with six goals in the final four games, pacing freshmen in steals (15) and blocks (five).
• Speaking of sophomores, Emma Gurasich and Caitlin Valentine return in net for the Explorers. Valentine led the duo with 95 saves on 237 shots, while Gurasich amassed 41 saves on 102 shots.
• The Blue & Gold adds a freshman class of five to the mix: Adrienn Horvath, Mia Mattingly, Jaycee Morris, Ali Wagner and Hannah Woren. 

SCOUTING THE BISON

• Bucknell posted a 15-4 record in 2020.
• La Salle has not played Bucknell since 2019, when they went 0-2 against them.
• The Bison return their offensive core in seniors Ali Furano and Kali Hyham. Furano led the team in scoring with 77 goals, followed by Hyham with 57. Junior Paige Furano was the team's top provider with 25 assists to go along with 29 goals.
• Hyham continually put her team at an advantage, whether on the scoreboard or in numbers in the pool. She tallied a team-high 53 exclusions earned, over 30 more than any other player.
• In net, junior Georgia Lewis is expected to start between the posts after logging 99 saves on 239 shots last season.
• Game time: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

• Gannon went 7-8 in 2020, including an 11-10 defeat to La Salle.
• The Golden Knights lose their top goal scorer from last season, Kelly Fehr, and their top overall scorer, Nicole Wiemken. They do return senior Julia Kreidinger, who finished third in goals (26) and tied-second in assists (25).
• Also returning for Gannon is a familiar face, junior Mary Trese Squeglia. The former Explorer, who spent her freshman year at La Salle, was Gannon's top provider in 2020 with 26 assists to go along with 14 goals.
• Game time: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

• Salem is already over a month into its season, tallying a 5-9 record and receiving votes in the national poll. The Tigers recently picked up three of those five wins this past weekend, defeating VMI, Mount St. Mary's and Villanova.
• The Blue & Gold fell to the Tigers twice last campaign, most recently beating them in 2019.
• Junior Chloe Woodbine paced the team over the last four games with 11 goals.
• Other players to watch include juniors Margherita Garibbo and Annefleur ten Bloemendal, both of whom have had strong games against La Salle in the past.
• A new variable is freshman Heather Lock from Auckland, New Zealand. The Kiwi has had a handful of multi-goal games, including a recent hattrick against the Keydets.
• Game time: Sunday, 8 a.m.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• Mount St. Mary's is the newest member of the MAAC conference with this being its debut year. The Mountaineers opened play this past weekend, going 0-4.
• In goal will be graduate student Rebekka Williams, who was busy across the four games. She finished with 43 saves.
• Freshman Ana Luisa Cotta scored the program's first ever goal and struck for four more on the second day.
• Game time: Sunday, 12 p.m.

COACH'S TAKE

• Head coach Tom Hyham had this to say on the 2021 season: "We are excited with anticipation for the women's season to begin. We set some fairly lofty goals last season before it was cut short and I believe we will pick up right where we left off -- and possibly stronger.  We have a jammed packed schedule against some good teams and I am ready to get rolling!"