POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — The Brown University women’s water polo team defeated Iona College, 9-8, and Siena College, 13-7, while falling to host Marist College, 6-3, at McCann Natatorium at the Marist Invitational.
Playing in their first games since February 4, the Bears broke a tie in the fourth quarter against the Gaels of Iona and held a lead as large as seven goals against the Saints of Siena in their two victories after dropping a decision to the Red Foxes of Marist in their first contest of the day.
For the Bears, senior Jessica Heilman (Menlo Park, Calif.), juniors Carmen Rosas (Schaumburg, Ill.) and McKenna Miller (Danville, Calif.) and sophomore Lexi Atwell (La Jolla, Calif.) each scored four goals on the day.
Against Marist in the day’s opener, Heilman scored a pair of goals, but Brown fell to the Red Foxes by a 6-3 count.
The Bears remained within 2-1 of Marist at halftime and pulled within 5-3 in the fourth quarter before the hosts held on for the victory.
Freshman Kaitlyn Cook (Los Gatos, Calif.) netted the Bears’ other goal while junior Maigrie McDougal (Sacramento, Calif.) and freshman Lily Keck (La Jolla, Calif.) each posted two steals.
Junior Allison Woo (Arcadia, Calif.) tallied an assist, a steal, and an ejection drawn, and classmate Miller totaled two sprints won, a steal, and an ejection drawn.
In the cage, senior goalie Marisol Dakan (Pasadena, Calif.) turned aside six shots.
After Marist scored the first quarter’s only goal, Heilman tied the game at 1-1 on a goal with 6:02 to go in the second quarter. The Red Foxes then took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
The Red Foxes netted the first three goals of the third quarter, pulling ahead 5-1. Heilman converted her second goal of the game to bring Brown within 5-2 heading to the fourth quarter.
A goal from Cook cut the Bears’ deficit to 5-3 with 5:48 to play, but Marist netted an insurance goal with 1:03 remaining.
Against Iona, Miller netted three goals to lead Brown to a 9-8 win in its second game of the day.
With the game tied at 7-7 with under four minutes to play, the Bears scored the contest’s next two goals and limited the Gaels to just one goal with less than 30 seconds remaining.
Alongside her hat trick, Miller tallied an assist and two steals while Heilman and Atwell each scored two goals.
Rosas posted a goal and three ejections drawn, McDougal compiled three steals, three field blocks and an assist, and Woo added a goal.
Dakan stopped eight shots.
Almost half of the match’s goals came in the first quarter as Brown led 5-3 at the end of one. Goals from Atwell, Rosas and Woo gave Brown a 3-2 edge midway through the period before tallies from Miller and Heilman to close the quarter gave the Bears’ their 5-3 advantage.
Miller converted the second quarter’s first goal, capping a 3-0 run and giving Brown a 6-3 lead. Iona scored the half’s final two goals to pull within 6-5 at the break.
After Iona tied the score at 6-6 at the 4:14 mark of the third quarter, Miller responded with a goal to push Brown ahead, 7-6, going to the final frame.
The Gaels knotted the count at 7-7 with 4:54 to play, but Atwell scored with 2:34 to go, and Heilman found the back of the net with 1:09 left to push Brown back ahead 9-7. Iona struck with 25 seconds on the clock before Brown closed out the victory.
In the day’s finale, Rosas led eight Brown goal scorers with three tallies as Brown defeated Siena, 13-7
The Bears led 10-6 at halftime and held the Saints to just one goal after the break, building a lead as large as seven goals at 13-6 late in the fourth quarter.
Alongside the hat trick from Rosas, McDougal, Atwell and Keck each netted two goals.
Miller, Woo, Cook and Riley Hughes (Evanston, Ill.) posted on tally apiece.
Brown opened the game with a 4-2 lead with 3:38 to go in the first quarter behind a pair of goals from Rosas and one marker each from Atwell and Keck. A goal from Woo with eight seconds left in the period gave the Bears a 5-3 advantage at the end of the first.
After goals from McDougal and Cook kept the Bears up 7-5, Brown used a 3-0 run behind conversions from Rosas, Keck, and Hughes to pull ahead 10-5 with 3:50 left until halftime. Brown maintained a 10-6 lead at the intermission.
Brown did not allow Siena to score over the first 13:44 of the second half, building a 13-6 lead along the way. Atwell and Miller each scored in the third quarter to lift Brown to a 12-6 advantage before McDougal made it 13-6 with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter. The Saints netted the game’s final goal with 2:16 to play.
Release courtesy Brown University Athletics Communications
