Women's Water Polo | April 23, 2021

PHILADELPHIA – #23 Women's water polo concludes its regular season this weekend with road trips to #24 LIU and Villanova. Including the recent Marist forfeit, the Explorers have won four straight games and eight of their last nine.
 
This weekend puts the regular season championship on the line. At 5-1 in conference play, the Explorers narrowly trail conference leaders LIU (4-0) with Villanova currently in third (4-2).
 
ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

• La Salle most recently defeated Iona and Siena on Senior Day last weekend, outscoring its opposition 39-20.
• La Salle is 1-0 on the road this season, defeating VMI 19-10 on March 27th.
• Conference recognition: senior Madison Martinez and freshman Hannah Woren are coming off of weekly awards. Martinez won MAAC Offensive Player of the Week and Woren claimed Rookie of the Week.
• Martinez was at the heart of the offensive success on Sunday with five goals and 11 assists. She tied the program record with seven assists against the Saints.
• Leading the goal scoring efforts was junior Madelyn Koerper with nine strikes, followed by senior Sarah DeFusco with eight.
• DeFusco also dished out five assists, while Woren finished with four.
• In net, sophomore Caitlin Valentine received most of the minutes, tallying 15 saves on 27 shots for a .556 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS

• LIU is undefeated this season, having played four games. It most recently picked up its first home result of the season with a 21-12 win over VMI. The Sharks will play one more home game at 3:30 vs. Villanova before hosting the Explorers later in the evening.
• The Explorers are 1-1 against the Sharks since LIU's program was founded last year. This campaign, the Blue & Gold suffered a 14-10 defeat at home on April 3rd.
• In their latest outing against the Keydets, sophomore Jessica Dean and freshmen Elena Camarena and Diba Peiravani put up big offensive numbers. Dean paced the offense with seven goals and four assists, Camarena followed with five goals and five assists and Peiravani finished with five goals and two assists.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Villanova, receiving votes in the national poll, are 8-4 overall this season with a 4-2 mark in MAAC play. The Wildcats have played the majority of their games at home, going 7-3, with a 1-1 mark on the road.
• La Salle is currently on a three-game winning streak against Villanova, most recently claiming a 20-17 home win on April 10th.
• The Wildcats also picked up two wins over Iona and Siena on Sunday. Junior Kaysie Stuba led the offensive charge with nine goals across the games, followed by classmate Amanda Rice with seven.