Women's Water Polo | March 4, 2023
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The La Salle women's water polo team opened competition at the Harvard Invitational with back-to-back losses to No. 20 Brown and No. 24 California State Northridge on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED (BROWN):
- The Bears opened strong to take a 4-1 lead over the Explorers after the first quarter. La Salle went on to have a scoreless second frame while Brown continued its offensive attack with seven more goals for the 11-1 lead at the half.
- The Explorers scoring picked up in the second half with three of its four goals, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit with Brown converting another seven goals for the 18-4 victory.
- Francesca Co', Whitney Wood, Shanna Zuanich and Madelyn Koerper each put up a goal for the Explorers. Co' and Zuanich each fired off a team-high four shots.
- Co' led the defensive efforts with two steals and Zuanich drew a team-high three exclusions.
- Emma Gurasich and Caitlin Valentine tag-teamed the efforts in the net again. Gurasich totaled four saves while Valentine recorded two while also adding a steal.
- The Bears held the 3-1 advantage in sprints with Casey Malone winning the only race of the game for the Explorers.
HOW IT HAPPENED (CSUN):
- CSUN was the first on the board, but it wasn't long before the Explorers tied it up. The Matadors went on to convert six more goals in the following minutes while holding the Explorers to just two more for the 7-3 edge at the end of the first period.
- The second frame was an even affair with each team scoring two goals to keep the deficit to four at the end of the first half, 9-5. The Explorers tried to claw back in the second half with four goals while only giving up five to CSUN, ultimately unable to overcome the early deficit and dropping the contest 15-9.
- Co' led the offensive attack again for the Explorers with a team-high four goals. The final goal in the contest marks her 50th of the season. She fired off a team-high nine shots at the Matadors net.
- Wood led the defensive efforts with three steals.
- Gurasich and Valentine shared the net again with one and four saves, respectively. Valentine also added a steal.
- The Explorers went 4-0 in sprints.
UP NEXT:
- La Salle returns to the pool tomorrow for its final two games of the invitational facing Gannon at 10:40 a.m. before taking on host, No. 19 Harvard, at 4 p.m.
