GROVE CITY, Pa. — Kaitlynn LaGrone (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Homewood Flossmoor) scored with 4:46 and 1:10 left in the fourth quarter to sandwich a strike by Sophie Flott (Sr., Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) at 4:01 as Carthage College overcame an 11-10 deficit with 6:56 left to play in rallying past Penn State Behrend, 13-12, in the Seventh Place game of the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at Grove City College’s James E. Lognecker Competition Pool.
The Firebirds (2-20, 0-8 CWPA Division III-West) – which previously finished second (2010), third (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), fourth (2013, 2019, 2021) and fifth (2011, 2012) at the CWPA Division III Championship – received scoring from eight athletes as the team overcame deficits in the first, second, third and fourth quarters to bide their time versus the Lions (8-18, 5-3 CWPA Division III-East) and put away Penn State Behrend in the closing minutes.
Trailing 10-8 entering the fourth quarter, Carthage inched back to within a goal 28 seconds into the final frame as Player of the Game Alyssa Sayatovic (So., Berwyn, Ill./Fenwick) spun in a shot (7:32). Sarah Mancebo (So., Tulare, Calif./Mission Oak) answered at 7:19 to cushion Penn State Behrend’s lead back to a pair at 11-9, but Sayatovic countered the response with one of her own at 6:56 to again put the Firebirds within immediate striking distance at 11-10.
LaGrone then took over the game by converting a man-up opportunity at 4:46 for the equalizer. Flott fired home a marker at 4:01 to provide Carthage the program’s inaugural lead since an 8-7 margin with 3:11 left in the third quarter before LaGrone connected for the eventual game-winner at 1:10 to expand the margin to 13-11. LaGrone’s goal proved to be the deciding factor to the final horn – literally – as Shannon Young (Jr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) whizzed a shot into the cage as time expired to shrink Carthage’s final margin of victory down to one at 13-12.
The game appeared inclined to be a Lions’ victory in the early going as Penn State Behrend – which did not crossover from the Division III-East Region to meet the West-Region Firebirds in non-conference competition during the regular season – flummoxed Carthage in the opening four minutes of competition during the first quarter.
Young (6:34) and Samantha Darrell (Fr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) (4:40) helped the Lions roar out to an early 2-0 lead prior to Gladys Contreras (Fr., Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) slipping in a man-up opportunity at 1:40 to put Carthage on the board. Young closed out the first quarter with another natural blow with 1:14 on the clock as Penn State Behrend exited the opening frame with a 3-1 margin.
The lead grew to three at 4-1 36 seconds into the second quarter as Darrell deposited her second marker of the contest into the twine with 7:24 until halftime. Facing the potential of the game getting out of reach, Sayatovic (7:04) and Dominika Myrda (Fr., Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) (5:33) answered the call for the Firebirds with back-to-back heaves that eluded PSB netminder Chloe Dodgen (Jr., Riverside, Calif./Hillcrest) to shrink the Lions’ lead back to one at 4-3.
Darrell (5:02, man-up) and Young (3:17, man-up) responded over the next two minutes to return a three-goal lead to Penn State Behrend at 6-3.
However, Carthage’s offense came alive in the final three minutes of the second quarter to eradicate the margin as Meghan Fisher (Sr., Tinley Park, Ill./Frankfort-Lincoln-Way-East), Sayatovic and Flott went back-to-back-to-back at 2:56, 59 seconds and 31 seconds, respectively, to deadlock the squads at six-all entering halftime.
Carthage went ahead for the first time 30 seconds into the third quarter as Sarah Lowery (Fr., Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) opened the second half by ticking the twine with 7:30 on the clock. Brooklynn Mocny (So., Sunnyvale, Calif./Homestead) returned a state of equilibrium by putting away a six-on-five opportunity at 4:57, but the Firebirds burned the Lions at 3:11 via a scoring volley by Sydney Logan (Fr., Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove) to pull ahead 8-7.
Penn State Behrend returned the favor in the waning minutes of the third quarter as Young (2:52), Darrell (1:50, man-up) and Mocny (31 seconds, penalty shot) completed a scoring trifecta to acquire a 10-8 lead and set the stage for Carthage’s fourth quarter comeback victory.
For Penn State Behrend – which drops its second consecutive one-goal game courtesy a fourth quarter comeback following a 12-11 defeat by Washington & Jefferson College during the evening of Friday, April 22 – Young finished with a game-high five goals. Darrell added four with Mocney (two) and Mancebo (one) accounting for the remainder of the Lions’ offense.
Dodgen took the loss with seven saves as the Penn State Behrend has now placed fourth (2016), fifth (2018), seventh (2013, 2015, 2017), eighth (2010, 2014, 2019, 2022) and ninth (2011, 2012) in the program’s prior appearances at the CWPA Division III Championship.
Sayatovic (four), Flott (two) and LaGrone (two) combined for eight goals in keying Carthage to the program’s second win of the season/weekend after the Firebirds dispatched Connecticut College, 17-9, on Friday, April 21, to open the 17-game, three-day, 10-team event.
Contreras, Myrda, Fisher, Lowery and Logan each added single tallies to support a three-save performance by netminder Evelyn Kajohn (Fr., Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Carthage College (2-20, 0-8 CWPA Division III-West) |
1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | – | 13 |
| Penn State Behrend (8-18, 5-3 CWPA Division III-East) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | 12 |
| Penn State Behrend Goals: | Shannon Young (5); Samantha Darrell (4); Brooklynn Mocny (2); Sarah Mancebo | |||||
| Carthage Goals: | Alyssa Sayatovic (4); Sophie Flott (2); Kaitlynn LaGrone (2); Gladys Contreras; Dominkia Myrda; Meghan Fisher; Sarah Lowery; Sydney Logan | |||||
| Saves: | Penn State Behrend – Chloe Dodgen (7) ; Carthage – Evelyn Kajohn (3) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Penn State Behrend – 4 ; Carthage – 13 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Penn State Behrend – 5-for-13 ; Carthage 2-for-4 | |||||
| Sprints: | Penn State Behrend – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) ; Carthage – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Martin Murray; Greg Sanchez | |||||
Carthage College’s Gladys Contreras (#17) looks for an opening as Penn State Behrend’s Samantha Darrell (#2) defends
Carthage College’s Sophie Flott (#8) defends Penn State Behrend’s Sarah Mancebo (#14)
