ST. PAUL, Minn. — Division III No. 7-ranked Macalester College split a pair of Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III at Riley Pool. The Scots edged Division III No. 7 Austin College, 12-11, in the morning before losing to defending CWPA champion/Division III No. 5 Augustana College, 14-4. The Scots are now 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the CWPA.
In the morning match against Austin, the teams exchanged goals in the first quarter, with first year Pooja Bucklin (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) scoring 19 seconds before the end of the frame. The Scots broke through in the second quarter, outscoring the Kangaroos 5-1 to take a 6-2 advantage. Bucklin scored twice, with junior Kendall Coney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek), sophomore Jess Palmer-Sammons (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) and sophomore Lorelei Bell (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) also scoring in the quarter.
Sophomore Alana Nadolski (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) opened the scoring in the second half, only to have Austin tally the next three goals to make the score 7-5 Macalester. Bucklin closed out the third quarter with her fourth goal of the match for an 8-5 lead.
After surrendering a goal early in the fourth quarter, the Scots received two goals from Coney to push lead back up to four, 10-6. Coney answered an Austin goal, then Nadolski found the net after another Kangaroos’ tally for a 12-8 lead with 4:22 remaining. Austin scored three goals down the stretch, the last coming with seven seconds left, but it was not enough to prevent Macalester from winning the match, 12-11.
The victory ended a six-match losing streak to the Kangaroos, who have been the CWPA runner-up the past two seasons.
Senior goalkeeper Laurel O’Hare (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) registered 13 saves in the one-goal win.
In the Scots’ final match of the weekend, Augustana took control early and never looked back.
The Vikings tallied eight straight goals before first year Hannah Fasi (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School) scored Macalester’s first marker of the match with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter. Coney found the net just before the end of the third quarter, while Nadolski and Bucklin scored in the fourth quarter for the Scots.
Augustana’s Casey Barragan totaled 11 goals, including six in the fourth quarter, to lead the Vikings.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Kratt (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) made six saves in goal for Macalester.
Release courtesy Macalester College Athletics Communications
