Women's Water Polo | March 13, 2022

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The La Salle women's water polo team won both its contests against Gannon (20-8) and Mount St. Mary's (9-6) on Sunday to record another victorious weekend at the La Salle Invitational.

The Explorers improve to 13-7 overall and have won the last 10 consecutive games marking the longest streak in program history. The squad's 13 victories also mark the most wins in a single season in La Salle history.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GANNON):

• The Explorers and Golden Knights remained neck-in-neck through the sixth minute with Gannon pulling ahead by one, 4-3, off a man-up advantage. La Salle's Sophie Appler got the final say with help from Shanna Zuanich at the 0:02 mark to tie it back up, 4-4, to end the first period.
• La Salle started with a 2-0 run through the first two minutes to pull ahead 6-4, but a free shot for the Golden Knights on the net cut the deficit back down to one, 6-5, with just under six minutes remaining. The Explorers held a 5-1 edge highlighted by back-to-back Madelyn Koerper goals to extend the lead to five at the end of the frame, 11-6.
• La Salle dominated the third frame with a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 11, 17-6. Goalie Emma Gurasich recorded the shutout in the net with three saves and one steal.
• A 3-0 run started with back to back goals from Appler put the Explorers ahead by 14, 20-6. A free shot on net for Gannon ended the drought and started a 2-0 run to cut the deficit to 12, 20-8, to end the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GANNON):

• Koerper was an offensive force to be reckoned with leading the team with fives goals in the contest.
• Appler, Zuanich and Sarah DeFusco all scored three goals each.
• Kalista Hyham recorded two in the game while Karle Linden, and Francesca Co' each tallied one.
• Zuanich, Hyham and Madison Martinez tied for a team-high three assists each.
• Appler and Martinez joined Gurasich as the leading stealers of the ball with three apiece.
• Gurasich made six saves and added two assists during her stint in the net while Caitlin Valentine totaled two saves.
• The Explorers went 4-0 in sprints.

HOW IT HAPPENED (MOUNT ST. MARY'S):

• Mount St. Mary's started off hot keeping the Explorers scoreless through the first frame to take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter.
• The Explorers defense stepped up to keep the Mountaineers scoreless in the second while the La Salle offense put together an impressive 5-0 run to take a two-point lead,5-3, at the end of the second quarter.
• Mount St. Mary's had the first say in the third frame but Martinez maintained the Explorers' two-point advantage, 6-4, on a breakaway wining the one-on-one battle with the Mountaineers goalie. The Explorers held the 2-1 edge through the rest of the third to take a three-point lead into the final stanza, 8-5.
• The Mountaineers had the lone goal of the frame through the 1:33 mark until an Appler-Martinez combo evened the frame to keep La Salle up by three for the 9-6 victory.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (MOUNT ST. MARY'S):

• Martinez led the afternoon with a team-high four goals.
• Hyham poured in three goals of her own while Linden and DeFusco each recorded one.
• Zuanich once again was the lead help in the game with a team-high four assists.
• Linden led the defensive effort from the field with four steals.
• Gurasich defended the net for the entirety of the game recording 14 saves and one steal.
• La Salle went 3-1 in sprints.

UP NEXT:

• La Salle heads to Lexington, Virginia to take on VMI and Iona on Saturday, Mar. 19 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.