GROVE CITY, Pa. — Alyssa Fricker (Fr., Foothill Ranch, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) and Olivia Hillhouse (Fr., Alpharetta, Georgia/Johns Creek) both posted five goals to share Player of the Game status as the Division III No. 9-ranked Vikings of Augustana College exploited a 5-3 scoring advantage in the third quarter to overcome Wittenberg University, 15-13, in the semifinals of the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at Grove City College’s James E. Longnecker Competition Pool.
Augustana (9-11, 6-2 CWPA Division III-West) – which is competing in the program’s inaugural varsity season – will face Division III No. 5/defending CWPA Division III Champion Austin College at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, with the league championship on the line.
Courtesy the win, Augustana earns a spot in the inaugural/2022 USA Water Polo Division III Women’s Collegiate Club Championship as the top two teams from the CWPA Division III ranks will take on the top two teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) on the weekend of Friday-Sunday, May 6-8, at a site to be determined in California.
The 2021 CWPA Division III Championship runner-up, Wittenberg (9-18, 2-6 CWPA Division III-West) will compete in the Third Place game at Noon on Saturday, April 23, against Macalester College – which dropped its semifinal to Austin by a 13-4 count. Historically, the Tigers have placed second (2021) and sixth (2019) in their two prior CWPA Division III Championship appearances.
Augustana raced out to an early 2-0 lead against Wittenberg as Fricker (7:30) and Hillhouse (5:14) found the rear of the net with shots. The Tigers clawed back into the contest as Grace McLaughlin (So., Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) delivered responses at 4:41 and 3:49 to square the teams at two-all before Anaiah Lightner (Fr., West Covina, Calif./St. Lucy’s) capped off a 3-0 run by putting away a six-on-five opportunity at 2:52 to give Wittenberg a 3-2 lead.
Hillhouse erased the Vikings’ deficit at 2:34, but Lightner (1:13, man-up) and Kailey Cordova (Jr., Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) (45 seconds, penalty shot) closed out the first quarter and McLaughlin (6:52, even-strength) commenced the second quarter with back-to-back-to-back markers to double-up Augustana at 6-3.
The Vikings began to chip away at their deficit as Annie Opal Dickson (Fr., Imperial Beach, Calif./Mar Vista) (5:07, man-up), Ocean Akau (Fr., Pana’ewa, Hawaii/Kamehameha) (4:19, even-strength) and Hillhouse (2:44, man-up) deposited three consecutive scores to even the damage at six-all.
Wittenberg rallied back, however, as McLaughlin (1:37, man-up) and Lightner (1:15, even-strength) connected for pairs of goals in 22 seconds to make it 8-6. Jillian Hagmann (Fr., San Jose, Calif./Santa Teresa) trimmed Augustana’s deficit back to one prior to halftime by putting away a shot with 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter for an 8-7 Tigers’ lead at the break.
McLaughlin expanded the margin to a pair 26 seconds into the third quarter (7:34) to give Wittenberg some breathing room at 9-7.
It marked the last time the Tigers put a notch on the board until the 7:35 mark of the fourth quarter as Augustana’s defense stiffened and offense came alive to turn the tide of the contest.
Fricker inflicted even-strength (4:53) and penalty shot (4:15, 3:42) strikes to give the Vikings their first lead (10-9) since a 2-1 margin with 4:41 left in the first quarter. Hillhouse (3:12, even-strength) and Charlotte Newport (Fr., Baytown, Texas/Ross St. Sterling) (20 seconds, even-strength) finished the third quarter with back-to-back markers to move Augustana ahead 12-9 with eight minutes left to play.
Wittenberg, however, refused to go away as Lightner (7:35) and McLaughlin (6:43) drilled in natural tallies to tighten the score to 12-11 with the potential for overtime looming in the background.
Fricker (6:06) and Hillhouse (4:28) expanded the gap between the teams to 14-11, but McLaughlin (3:05) and Kiersten Heverly (Sr., Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) (2:37) responded over the next two minutes to narrow Augustana’s lead to 14-13 with two and a half minutes to play.
With neither team able to add to their goal total over the next 90 seconds, Akau finally broke through to give Augustana some insurance by cashing in on a penalty shot with 52 seconds left to establish the 15-13 final score.
For Wittenberg, McLaughlin netted a game-high seven goals with Lightner (four), Heverly (one) and Cordova (one) accounting for the remainder of the Tigers’ offense. Jordan Brough (So., North Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast) stopped 11 shots in cage in suffering the loss.
Fricker (five), Hillhouse (five) and Akau (two) combined for 12 of Augustana’s 15 goals with Hagmann, Dickson and Newport accounting for the remainder with single tallies. Lizzie Pelzman (Fr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) recorded eight saves in earning the win.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Division III No. 9 Augustana College (9-11, 6-2 CWPA Division III-West) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | – | 15 |
| Wittenberg University (9-18, 2-6 CWPA Division III-West) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | 13 |
| Wittenberg Goals: | Grace McLaughlin (7); Anaiah Lightner (4); Kiersen Heverly; Kailey Cordova | |||||
| Augustana Goals: | Alyssa Fricker (5); Olivia Hillhouse (5); Ocean Akau (2); Jillian Hagmann; Annie Opal Dickson; Charlotte Newport | |||||
| Saves: | Wittenberg – Jordan Brough (11) ; Augustana – Lizzie Pelzman (8) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Wittenberg – 10 ; Augustana – 11 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Wittenberg – 4-for-11 ; Augustana – 5-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | Wittenberg – 4-for-4 ; Augustana – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – Augustana (Head coach Ryan Pryor, 1:23 left in 2nd Q); YC/RC – Augustana (Head coach Ryan Pryor, halftime); YC – Wittenberg (Head coach Sivan Pardon, 4:28 left in 4th Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Michael Francis; Brandon Nicholson | |||||
Augustana College’s Maggie Caliendo (#8) lobs a shot as Wittenberg University’s Evelyn Heil (#11) closes in
Wittenberg University goalie Jordan Brough (#1) attempts to save a shot by Augustana College’s Olivia Hillhouse (#2)
Wittenberg University’s Savannah Cross (#3) looks for an opening as Augustana College’s Ocean Akau (#5) defends
Augustana College’s Ocean Akau (#5) lines a shot past Wittenberg University’s Elizabeth Schexnaider (#9) and Grace McLaughlin (#6)
