Women's Water Polo | February 2, 2023

PROVIDENCE, R.I.- The La Salle women's water polo team will take the pool for the first time in the 2023 season at the Bruno Classic this weekend.
 
The Explorers will take on host, Brown, and Gannon on Friday, Feb. 3 at 5:10 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively. The team will then face Saint Francis (Pa.) and Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11:20 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
 
The contests on Friday will be streamed live on ESPN+ and results can be found here.
 
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• The Explorers return following a 22-15 season last year earning a 9-7 mark in conference play to earn a spot in the MAAC Tournament. La Salle fell to Wagner in the first round for an early elimination from the championships.
• The roster returns 11 members from last season including 2023 MAAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the year Emma Gurasich. The senior played in 37 games last season recording nearly 1,000 minutes of playing time. She finished the season with a.457 save percentage while adding 40 assists and 66 steals.
• Shanna Zuanich also returns to the pool for the Explorers. The California native set the single-game record in both points (12) and assists (9) last year. She was the squad's second-leading scorer with 111 points from 50 goals and 61 assists.
• Francesca Co' returns after a strong freshman campaign last year. The Italian native set the single-game program record for both goals (7) and steals (7) last season. She was the third-leading scorer for the Explorers with 94 points in 36 games off 49 goals and 45 assists.
• Hannah Woren joins the Explorers again this season after tying the single-game program record for steals with seven. She totaled 33 steals on the season.
• The Explorers also welcome seven fresh faces to the roster this season.

SCOUTING THE BEARS:

• Brown enters the season following a record-setting 25 wins last year. The Bears recorded a 25-17 mark for the season and 7-5 mark in league play.
• Zoe King will return for the Bears for her senior season after leading the team last season in almost every category. King ended last year with 73 goals, 65 steals and 74 sprints won.
• Brown also returns its second and third leading scorers, Claire Pisani and Lily Weiser. Pisani recorded 60 goals last year while Weiser ended the season with 51 goals. Pisani also led the Bears in exclusions drawn with 116.
• Sophomore Shauna Franke will have to play a more dominant role in the cage following the loss of starting goalie, Marley Presiado. Franke has 109 saves last season and allowed just 80 goals.
• Brown won the last contest against the Explorers last year in the Bruno Classic with a single-point margin of victory, 9-8.

SCOUTING GOLDEN KNIGHTS:

• The Golden Knights will face the Explorers after opening the season against Siena earlier that day.
• Shane Unger enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Golden Knights leading his team to a 10-14 season last year. The squad had a seventh-place showing at the WWPA Championships last year.
• Gannon enters the contest without its top two scorers from last season, Nicole Wiemken and Rachel Kreidinger.
• Jade Strickland returns following a standout freshman campaign. She ended the season as the team's third-leading scorer with 37 goals and 27 assists for 64 points.
• The last time the Golden Knights came face-to-face with the Explorers they suffered a devastating 20-8 loss.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH:

• The Red Flash enters the contest at 0-1 on the season recently falling to Mount St. Mary's 14-12.
• St. Francis had to work from behind the entire game, but couldn't secure the comeback despite a six-goal performance from junior attacker Emese Szucs.
• The Red Flash relied on sophomore goalie Isabel Lumley who finished the game with 15 saves.
• St. Francis held the advantage over Mount St. Mary's in exclusions, 12-9.
• All-in-all the Red Flash had six players combine for its 12 goals including the first collegiate goal for freshman Caylah Olay.
• Last time out against the Explorers, the Red Flash fell behind early eventually cutting the deficit to one before the half, but unable to overcome the disadvantage dropping the contest 8-6.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON:

• Harvard enters the contest at 3-1 on the season entering the Bruno Classic following a four-game slate at the Hoosier Invite.
• The Crimson won its first contest of the invite with a convincing 18-3 final score before suffering a loss to host, Indiana, later that very evening. Harvard ended the four-game stretch with back-to-back victories against Villanova and McKendree, scoring in double-figures in both contests.
• The season-opening victory marked coach Ted Minnis' 200^th win.
• Captain Grace Thawley is one to watch. The senior opened the season with four goals in the victory over Cal State East Bay. She went on to add four more goals throughout the weekend.
• The Crimson saw 13 different goal scorers in the victory over Villanova with Alexis Kieckhafer protecting the net to earn her second win of the tournament.
• Harvard came out on top in the team's last two meetings giving up just five goals to the Explorers while tallying a double-digit performance of 15.