COMMERCE, Calif. — Freshmen Katie Klein (Lafayette, Calif.) and Dagmara Czajka (San Diego, Calif.) scored four and three goals respectively to lead Brown University women’s water polo to a 15-9 win over Division III No. 5-ranked the University of La Verne at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center.
Playing in the sixth game of their eight-day, eight-game spring break trip to the state of California, the Bears gained an 11-4 lead through three quarters on their way to the victory over the Leopards improving to 4-2 on their trip.
“It was nice to get back into the win column tonight and to get a lot of players experience, especially in a facility named after one of the best players in the history of USA women’s water polo,” said Brown head coach Felix Mercado. “We’re looking forward to closing out our trip on Saturday against two ranked teams.”
Klein paced the Brown offense with her quartet of goals, while Czajka finished with three goals, two assists, three steals and two field blocks.
Sophomore Carissa Perez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) tallied two goals, an assist, and two steals, and senior Maigrie McDougal (Sacramento, Calif.) posted two goals and an assist.
Junior Lexi Atwell (La Jolla, Calif.) totaled a goal, four assists, and three steals, sophomore Kaitlyn Cook (Los Gatos, Calif.) notched a goal, two assists, and two steals, and senior Allison Woo (Arcadia, Calif.) and freshman Maureen O’Malley (Buffalo, N.Y.) each netted a goal.
In the cage, freshman goalkeeper Marley Presiado (Newport Beach, Calif.) made four saves, and junior goalie Lauren Burns (Long Grove, Ill.) stopped two shots.
The Bears opened the game with a 3-0 lead behind a pair of goals from Klein and a marker from McDougal and remained ahead 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Klein and McDougal started the second stanza with consecutive goals to push Brown ahead 5-1. After La Verne pulled within 5-2, Cook and Czajka scored goals to close the half, giving Brown a 7-2 lead at the break.
Perez and Atwell initiated the second half’s scoring, extending the Bears’ advantage to 9-2 in the third quarter. Following a pair of Leopard markers, O’Malley and Klein each found the back of the net to keep Brown up 11-4 heading to the final frame.
Following a 4-0 run from La Verne that brought the score to 11-8 with 4:31 remaining, Brown answered with a 4-0 run of its own behind two tallies from Czajka and one goal each from Woo and Perez. The Leopards netted the contest’s last goal.
Release courtesy Brown University Athletics Communications
