Women's Water Polo | April 1, 2023

LEXINGTON, Va. – The La Salle women's water polo team bounced back from a two-game loss with a huge win over Siena before defeating Iona in an overtime battle to win both contests on Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (SIENA):

• The Explorers jumped out to a 2-0 lead early on before a response from the Saints cut the deficit down to one, 2-1. La Salle once again pulled ahead by two, but a goal in the final minutes from Siena kept it a one-goal game heading into the second period, 3-2.
• The scoring broke open for La Salle in the second period shutting out the Saints in the frame while tallying seven goals to take a 10-2 lead.
• The scoring remained even through the second half with each team putting up four goals leading to the 14-6 win for the Explorers.
• Francesca Co' led the scoring efforts with seven goals on 10 shots. She also led on the defensive side with a team-high six steals.
• Shanna Zuanich and Madelyn Koerper contributed multiple goals for the Explorers converting three and two, respectively. The duo also led the team in assists with three each.
• Hannah Woren and Tatum Lomax added one goal apiece.
• Emma Gurasich and Caitlin Valentine shared duties in the net recording four and three saves, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED (IONA):

• The Explorers took a quick 2-0 lead over the Gaels to start the game but a final-minute goal for Iona cut the lead to one, 2-1, heading into the second frame.
• Sophie Appler started off the second period strong firing a rocket from out deep to give La Salle a 3-1 lead. The Gaels responded with a 4-0 run through the rest of the frame to take a 5-3 lead into the second half.
• La Salle opened the half with back-to-back goals to tie the game up, 5-5, in the first two minutes. The Explorers and Gaels traded goals over the next three minutes before a 2-0 run from the Explorers gave them the 8-6 edge with just over two minutes remaining. Iona converted one finale goal before the end of the frame to bring it back to a single-point lead for La Salle, 8-7.
• Koerper converted the turnaround shot 53 seconds into the final period of regulation to put La Salle back ahead by two, 9-7. Back-to-back goals from Iona tied it up at 9-9 to send the game into overtime.
• Lomax turned up the heat for the Explorers with back-to-back goals to put La Salle ahead by two, 11-9, in the first overtime. Iona put up one more goal, but couldn't pull ahead to give La Salle the 11-10 victory.
• Lomax was the star of the show with six goals on seven shots.
• Koerper and Zuanich added two goals each while Appler recorded one.
• Lomax also led the defensive efforts with three steals while Co', Appler and Casey Malone all recorded two field blocks each.
• Gurasich protected the net through the entirety of the game recording 13 saves, two assists and one steal.

UP NEXT:
La Salle returns to action tomorrow, Apr. 2, to face Marist at 11:20 a.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.