LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Penn State Behrend women’s water polo team was on the losing end of a 12-8 decision at Division III No. 10-ranked Occidental College.
The Tigers never trailed by opening up the contest with five-straight goals as Abigail Lavold (6:48), Kayla Lin (5:47, 4:06) and Jillian Miller (5:08) connected in the first quarter prior to Miller depositing a shot (6:36) to open the second frame.
Marley Persch (Fr., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) put Behrend on the board with 4:26 remaining until halftime, but Olivia Montgomery answered at 2:33 to allow Occidental to enter the break with a 6-1 lead.
Emily Kapins cushioned the margin to six at 7-1 with 5:32 remaining in the third quarter, but Persch responded at 5:15 to inch Penn State Behrend back to within five at 7-2.
Montgomery struck again on a man-up opportunity at 3:29, but Samantha Darrell (Fr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), Persch and Kayla Scarpaci (Jr., Cypress, Texas/Langham Creek) put away shots at 2:56, 2:05 and 1:16, respectively, to pull the Lions to within 8-5.
However, Lin (1:02) and Elizabeth Dunning (32 seconds) delivered to return a five-goal lead to the Tigers at 10-5 prior to Brooklynn Mocny (So., Sunnyvale, CA/Homestead) putting away a shot with seven seconds left to make it a 10-6 game through 24 minutes of action.
The teams traded scores in the fourth quarter as Montgomery (5:58) and Lily Collins Carson (13 seconds) sandwiched markers by Persch (4:00) and Mocny (41 seconds).
Persch led Penn State Behrend with four goals, while Mocny posted a pair of scores and a steal. Darrell chipped in a tally with Scarpaci adding a goal and two assists. Shannon Young (Jr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) notched a pair of assists with Emily McNaughton (Jr., Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) and Sarah Mancebo (So., Tulare, Calif./Mission Oak) handing out single helpers.
The duo of Julie de Deus (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) and Chloe Dodgen (Jr., Riverside, Calif./Hillcrest) combined for six saves.
