ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Carthage College women’s water polo team defeated the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 13-11, and suffered setbacks versus the Virginia Military Institute, 22-13, Ottawa University, 13-12, and Division III No. 6-ranked Augustana College, 16-4, at the 2025 Macalester Invitational hosted by Macalester College on Saturday-Sunday, February 15-16.
Against Caltech on Saturday, February 15, three Firebirds scored in the first period as Morrigan Bushroe, Xiomara Trejo and Grace Steinberg dented the twine with 6:28, 3:36, and 1:41 on the clock, respectively.
In the second, Abigail Karpluk scored with 5:42 on the clock and Bushroe tossed in her second marker wit a pair of seconds left on the clock to build a 5-2 halftime lead.
The Firebirds scored five goals in the third quarter as Trejo, Steinberg, Faith Harris, Sarah Lowery and Karpluk lobbed in volleys to keep the gap between the teams at three (10-7) entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Trejo scored at 7:21 prior to Steinberg tacking on a pair with 5:44 and 4:48 to play in regulation to provide Carthage a 13-9 cushion. Caltech inched back to within a pair prior to the final horn courtesy man-up tallies with 4:29 and 57 seconds left in the waning minutes of the game.
Facing VMI, Yamila Areizaga opened the Firebirds’ scoring with 6:01 left in the first quarter prior to Karpluk slipping in a shot with 3:42 remaining in the frame. However, the Keydets pumped in nine goals in the contest’s opening eight-minutes to pull out to a 9-2 lead.
Carthage chipped away at its deficit in the second quarter with a 4-2 scoring advantage as Trejo (two), Bushroe (one) and Brenna Carstens (one) combined to move the Firebirds within 11-6 entering halftime.
Another 9-2 run by VMI in the third quarter put the contest out of reach as Carstens (7:41) and Bushroe (3:56) accounted for Carthage’s offense.
Trailing 20-8 entering the fourth quarter, the Firebirds chipped their final deficit down to nine before the final horn as Bushroe (three), Steinberg (one) and Areizaga (one) combined for a 5-2 scoring run against VMI.
On Sunday, February 16, Ottawa managed to slip away in a 13-12 Carthage loss.
Bushroe (one) and Areizaga (two) combined to keep Carthage in the game as the Firebirds trailed 5-3 after eight minutes of action.
In the second quarter, Bushroe and Trejo scored at 6:47 and 5:42 before Areizaga netted back-to-back goals with 2:49 and 2:24 remaining in the first half as Ottawa held a narrow 8-7 lead at halftime.
Karpluk (5:59), Areizaga (5:02) and Carstens (51 seconds) accounted for three goals in the third quarter, but Ottawa outscored Carthage by a 4-3 count to widen its margin to a pair at 12-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ottawa’s Kendall Patrick posted the game-winning strike with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter prior to Areizaga (3:45) and Lowery (3:12) chipping away at the Spirit’s lead to close the final gap to a single goal before the concluding horn.
Taking on the defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Champion Vikings of Augustana in a non-conference clash, Carthage fell behind 7-1 in the first quarter and was unable to recover.
Steinberg put the Firebirds on the scoreboard with 51 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Karpluk converted a shot with 1:07 on the second quarter clock as the teams entered halftime with the Vikings holding an 8-2 scoring advantage.
Following a 2-0 outburst by Augustana in the third quarter to widen the difference between the institutions to 10-2, Karpluk and Aubrey Korzyniewski volleyed in scores for Carthage during a 6-2 fourth quarter for the 16-4 final score.
Information courtesy Carthage College Athletics Communications
