CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Brown University women’s water polo team topped Long Island University, 15-4, and outlasted Iona College in sudden death/victory overtime, 15-14, to complete a sweep in its second and final day of competition at the Harvard University Invitational at Blodgett Pool.
The Bears – winners of 12 of their first 14 games to open the season – allowed just one goal in the first half on their way to the win in game one against the Sharks before rallying for an overtime victory against the Gaels in game two after Iona sent the contest to overtime tied at 12-12.
“We played well this morning against LIU, especially on the defensive end,” said Brown head coach Felix Mercado. “We did not play as well defensively against Iona, but we did enough to pull out the win. Overall, we rebounded after our loss to Salem yesterday and won three in a row to close out the weekend.”
Freshman Katie Dvonch (Seal Beach, Calif.) scored a team-high six goals on the day, including the game-winning goal in sudden victory overtime against Iona. Junior Carissa Perez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) totaled 12 points between the two games behind nine assists and three goals. Brown’s goalkeepers – senior Lauren Burns (Long Grove, Ill.) and sophomore Marley Presiado (Newport Beach, Calif.) – combined for 24 saves on the day.
Facing Long Island, freshmen Dvonch and Claire Pisani (Redwood City, Calif.) each netted hat tricks as Brown speared the Sharks, 15-4.
The Bears held edges of 5-1 at halftime and 11-3 at the end of the third quarter on their way to the win over the Sharks.
Dvonch and Pisani paced the Brown offense with three goals apiece with Dvonch adding an assist.
Sophomore Katie Klein (Lafayette, Calif.) notched two goals and two assists, while freshmen Linnea Kelly (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Zoe King (Almaden, Calif.) each scored two goals.
Junior Carissa Perez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) totaled six points on five assists and a goal alongside three steals, and freshman Bryn Gioffredi (Laguna Beach, Calif.) posted five points on three assists and a goal. Freshman Lily Weiser (Long Beach, Calif.) added a goal and an assist, and junior Lily Keck (La Jolla, Calif.) contributed two assists and three steals.
In the cage, senior Lauren Burns (Long Grove, Ill.) and sophomore Marley Presiado (Newport Beach, Calif.) made eight and four saves respectively.
The Bears opened the game with a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter behind goals from Kelly and Pisani. Brown scored the first three goals of the second stanza extending its lead to 5-0 behind tallies from Klein, Kelly and Pisani. Brown remained ahead 5-1 at halftime.
The Bears notched the first three markers of the third quarter with two goals from Dvonch and a tally from King, pushing the lead to 8-1. After a LIU goal, three straight tallies from Weiser, Pisani and King staked Brown to an 11-2 edge. The Bears stayed ahead 11-3 heading to the final frame.
Goals from Klein, Dvonch, and Perez pushed the advantage to 14-3 in the fourth quarter. Following a goal from the Sharks, Gioffredi netted the game’s final tally.
Brown topped LIU for the second time this season as the Bears beat the Sharks, 10-6, on February 1 at home during the Bruno Classic.
Squaring off with Iona, Dvonch notched her second hat trick of the day – including scoring the game-winning goal in sudden-victory overtime – as Brown topped the Gaels, 15-14.
The Bears outscored the Gaels, 3-2, in overtime after Iona overcame a 9-5 deficit to send the contest to overtime tied at 12-12.
Dvonch scored three goals – including two in overtime – alongside two assists and a steal. Senior Lexi Atwell (La Jolla, Calif.) tallied three goals, one assist and two steals.
Perez totaled six points behind two goals – including one in overtime – and four assists. Weiser posted two goals and two assists, and Klein netted two goals.
Sophomore Dagmara Czajka (San Diego, Calif.), King and Pisani each scored once. Gioffredi added two assists and three steals, and junior Keck tacked on two assists.
In the cage, Presiado and Burns turned aside eight and four shots apiece, respectively.
Brown opened the game with a 2-0 lead behind goals from Weiser and King before a marker from Perez kept the Bears up 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Tallies from Klein and Czajka to start the second stanza extended the lead to 5-2 before Iona pulled within 5-4. Back-to-back goals from Atwell and Klein moved the margin to 7-4, and Brown remained ahead 7-5 at the intermission.
Goals from Weiser and Atwell pushed the Bears’ advantage to four goals at 9-5 – their largest lead of the game. Despite goals from Atwell and Dvonch, the Gaels pulled within 11-10 heading to the fourth quarter.
After Iona tied the game at 11-11 with 3:54 to go in regulation, Pisani responded to put the Bears back in front, 12-11, with 3:41 left. Another tally from the Gaels with 2:18 on the clock sent the contest to overtime tied at 12-12.
In the first bonus session, Iona scored with 41 seconds left before Dvonch countered with a power-play goal with 13 seconds to play as the two teams remained tied 13-13 at the end of the first part of overtime.
A bar-down goal from Perez on the six-on-five gave Brown a 14-13 lead with 2:27 to go in the second overtime session before Iona forced a sudden victory period behind a goal with 1:54 on the clock.
On the game’s decisive play, Dvonch made a steal at mid pool, carried the ball into the attacking end, and lofted a shot over the goalkeeper at the 1:55 mark to seal the win for the Bears.
Brown topped Iona for the second time this season – both at Harvard – as the Bears bested the Gaels, 14-6, on January 25.
Release courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
