Women's Water Polo | April 14, 2023

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The La Salle women's water polo team will face its final three opponents of the regular season this weekend.
 
The Explorers will kick things off on Saturday, Apr. 15 at 12 p.m. against No. 25 LIU followed by a rematch against crosstown rival Villanova at 4 p.m.
 
La Salle will end the weekend on Sunday, Apr. 16 in an 11 a.m. matchup with VMI. All contests will stream live on ESPN+.
 
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• La Salle enters the contest at 14-14 overall and 4-6 in conference play. The Explorers currently hold the third spot in the MAAC Red Division rankings, needing to defeat Villanova this weekend to earn its ticket to the championships.
• The Explorers are coming off a big 13-4 win over St. Francis Brooklyn keeping the squad in the .500 category on the season.
• La Salle is led by offensive force Francesca Co' who currently leads the Explorers in five categories. She has recorded a team-high 86 goals on 226 shots this season while adding 34 assists and 58 steals. She also is dominant on the defensive side of the ball with 24 blocks.
• Veteran Madelyn Koerper has been a consistent key player for La Salle with 58 goals on the season and a team-high 41 exclusions drawn.
• The Explorers defense is led by Emma Gurasich who has recorded 185 saves this season and added 16 steals and 16 assists.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS:

• LIU enters the contest with a 17-11 record overall and a 7-2 mark in conference play.
• The team currently ranks second in the MAAC red division with Wagner leading the standings with a perfect 10-0 conference mark.
• The Sharks enter the contest following the end of a five-game win streak including a perfect 3-0 weekend in Virginia. The streak was cut short on Apr. 8 against Marist. The Red Foxes handed the Sharks an 8-12 loss marking its first loss since Mar. 25.
• LIU last came head-to-head with the Explorers in Staten Island, New York on Mar. 19 taking immediate control of the game and recording a 16-5 victory.
• Elena Camarena led the way in the contest with an impressive 10 goals followed by Paola Dominguez-Castro who recorded three in the game.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:

• Villanova enters the contest with a 14-17 overall and a 4-7 mark in conference play. The Wildcats and Explorers are battling it out for the final spot in the Red Division for the MAAC Championships.
• The Wildcats have lost three of their last five games having recorded just one win in the month of April altogether.
• Villanova is most recently coming off a 13-10 loss to Mount St. Mary's on Apr. 8.
• This will be the second matchup between the Explorers and Wildcats this season. Villanova took a single-point win, 9-8, when visiting the Explorers in March.
• Emily McKenzie led the scoring efforts in the game with a hat trick in the victory. Emily Morrissey contributed two goals to the contest while adding four assists.

SCOUTING THE KEYDETS:

• VMI enters the weekend at 3-16 overall and 0-10 in MAAC play.
• This will be the second matchup between the Keydets and Explorers this season. La Salle came out on top in the last contest with the 17-6 victory. The six goals is the least amount scored by VMI in a game this season. The team has recorded three games with just six goals.
• Courtney Novotny led the scoring in the game for VMI with three goals. Sydney Smith followed behind with two.