Women's Water Polo | March 12, 2022
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The La Salle women's water polo team put up 21 points in each of its contests on the first day of the La Salle Invite to sweep the day against Mercyhurst (21-10) and Salem (21-13).
The Explorers are now 11-7 on the season and have won their last eight consecutive contests. The victory against Mercyhurst marks the first win for La Salle in its home pool this season while the two 21-point games mark the third and fourth 20-plus goal games for the Explorers.
HOW IT HAPPENED (MERCYHURST):
- La Salle took an early lead with a 5-0 run through the first three minutes before Mercyhurst answered with a short 2-0 spurt. Sophie Appler put a stop to the Lakers' scoring with a goal to put La Salle back up by five. 6-1. Mercyhurst found the back of the net once again, but the Explorers' Francesca Co' was there to respond with 11 seconds left to give La Salle the 7-3 lead at the end of the first frame.
- The Explorers opened the second stanza with a quick goal from Madelyn Koerper that was swiftly answered by the Lakers offense. La Salle started on a 3-0 run broken up by a second Mercyhurst goal with under 30 seconds left, 11-5. Tatum Lomax had the last say extending the Explorers' lead back to seven to end the period, 12-5.
- Mercyhurst started with an early goal in the third period to cut its deficit back down to six, 12-6. The Explorers held the 4-1 advantage through the remainder of the frame to take a nine-point lead into the fourth, 16-7.
- La Salle jumped out to a 2-0 run through the first four minutes, but the teams remained even at 3-3 through the rest of the game with the Explorers claiming the 11-point victory, 21-10.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (MERCYHURST):
HOW IT HAPPENED (SALEM):
- The Explorers held the Tigers scoreless through the sixth minute with a 3-0 run but a penalty shot gave Salem the opportunity it needed to get on the board and cut the deficit to two, 3-1. La Salle put together a 2-0 performance through the remainder of the first to take a four-point lead into the second period, 5-1.
- Back-to-back goals from Karle Linden put La Salle up by six, 7-1, just three minutes into the second frame. Salem stepped up with a man-up advantage to cut the deficit to five, 7-2. The Explorers held a strong 6-2 advantage through the remainder of the stanza to take a 13-4 lead into the third frame.
- The teams remained even trading goals, 3-3, through the fourth minute before Salem got a free shot on the net at the 4:23 mark to cut the deficit to eight, 16-8. Appler kept the period even putting La Salle back up by nine, 17-8. The Tigers held the 3-2 edge through the final four minutes to keep the deficit to eight heading into the final period, 19-11.
- After a scoreless three minutes, Appler found the back of the net for the Explorers to pull ahead 20-11. Hyham then extended the lead to 10, 21-11, at the 3:38 mark. Salem went on a 2-0 run to end the frame, but couldn't over come the gap falling to the Explorers 21-13.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (SALEM):
- Zuanich was a dominant force on offense with 12 points on three goals and a record nine assists.
- Hyham was the leading scorer in the game yet again with five goals. She added two assists and a team-high five steals.
- Appler totaled four goals while Linden and DeFusco added three. Koerper (2) and Martinez (1) also contributed to the Explorers' 21 total goals.
- Gurasich defended the net for the entirety of the game. She made nine saves while adding one assist and two steals.
- The Explorers went 1-3 in sprints.
UP NEXT:
- La Salle returns to Kirk Pool tomorrow for two more contests against Gannon at 10 a.m. and Mercyhurst at 1 p.m. The Explorers will honor its four seniors prior to the game against the Lakers on Sunday.
