ST. PAUL, Minn. — Emma Luna (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii/Punahou School) scored three times and goalkeeper Sarah Franco (Jr., Weston, Conn./Weston) stopped 14 shots to share Player of the Game kudos as Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III-East Region champion Connecticut College overcame a five-goal deficit with 2:50 left in the third quarter to clip Wittenberg University in overtime, 10-9, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 CWPA Division III Championship at Macalester College’s Riley Pool.
Connecticut (10-7, 7-1 CWPA Division III-East) will return to the water on Saturday, April 22, at 2:00 p.m. Central against defending CWPA Division III Champion/CWPA Division III-West Region runner-up/No. 9-ranked Austin College in the tournament semifinals.
Wittenberg (7-13, 1-7 CWPA Division III-West) – which will see the women’s water polo program eliminated following the CWPA Division III Championship as the team can not extend its season to compete at the USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Championship due to the loss – falls into the consolation side of the bracket.
The Tigers will next play at 3:20 p.m. on April 22 against the victor of a consolation game pitting Grove City College versus Penn State Behrend with a berth in the Fifth Place game on the line. Wittenberg stands at 1-0 in meetings this year against both programs as the Tigers collected 16-7 and 15-11 defeats of the Wolverines and Lions, respectively, on Saturday, April 25 at Grove City.
The game was a story of runs as the Tigers torched the Camels for back-to-back goals by Grace McLaughlin (Jr., Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) and Savannah Cross (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) with 23 and one second left in the first quarter before Evelyn Heil (So., Fort Worth, Texas/Carroll) stuffed in a man-up strike 62 seconds into the second quarter to stake Wittenberg to a 3-0 lead.
Luna snapped the Tigers’ scoring tear by converting a six-on-five chance with 5:09 remaining in the first half to move Connecticut within 3-1 entering the break.
Wittenberg appeared primed to pull away as Shania Stone (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) and Bianca Gallegos (Fr., Albuquerque, N.M./Manzano) opened the second half with back-to-back markers with 7:35 and 4:20 on the third quarter clock to expand the Tigers’ lead to 5-1.
Bordering on the brink of falling too far behind to rally back for victory, Ainsley Cornwall (Fr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) gave Connecticut hope by swishing a shot at 3:50 to keep the Camels in the contest. However, consecutive tallies by Gallegos (3:36) and McLaughlin (2:50) provided Wittenberg a nearly insurmountable 7-2 spread with under 11 minutes left to play in regulation.
It was the final 11 minutes of regulation for Connecticut, however, that proved the adage that the improbable is not impossible.
Luna started an unlikely comeback bid by Connecticut via a strike with 47 seconds left in the third quarter to inch the Camels within 7-3 heading into the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
Maria Sell (Sr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) (6:23, man-up), Brooke Brandenburger (Fr., Sacramento, Calif./Christian Brothers) (5:47) and Luna (4:13) followed in the dawning moments of the fourth quarter to shave Wittenberg’s margin back to 7-6 and give Connecticut hope of either posting the equalizer in regulation or capturing victory during either the remainder of regulation or overtime.
The two teams went up-and-down the tank for the next three and a half minutes before Gigi Sandull (Fr., Kenilworth, N.J./Union County Vocation-Technical Schools) balanced the scoreboard at seven-all with 49 seconds left on the clock to force overtime.
In the first of two three minute overtime frames, Sandull (2:35), Anna Taylor (Fr., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) (1:33) and Sell (52 seconds, man-up) went back-to-back-to-back to cap off a 7-0 outburst dating back to the 47 seconds mark of the third quarter and hand the Camels all they needed by taking a 10-7 lead.
Wittenberg made it a game in the second overtime period as Cross (2:22) and Meghan Lythgoe (Sr., Mason, Ohio/Mason) (1:39) lined in shots to close the gap to 10-9. However, the Tigers were unable to deliver another tally as Connecticut held on for a 10-9 overtime win.
Connecticut – which previously placed First (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), Second (2018), Third (2012), Fourth (2017, 2019), Fifth (2010), Sixth (2011) and Ninth (2022) at the CWPA Division III Championship and is guaranteed to finish no lower than Fourth Place at the 2023 tournament – received three goals from Luna, while Sell and Sandull chipped in pairs. Brandenburger, Cornwall and Taylor chipped in solo strikes to support Franco’s 14 save effort.
For Wittenberg – which holds prior Second (2021), Third (2022) and Sixth (2019) Place finishes at the CWPA Division III Championship – the duo of Cross (three) and McLaughlin (two) posted multi-goal games. Lythgoe, Heil, Stone and Gallegos contributed solo scores, while Jordan Brough (Jr., North Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast) made 11 saves in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | OT1 | OT2 | – | FINAL | |
| Wittenberg University |
2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | 9 |
| Connecticut College | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | 10 |
| Connecticut Goals: | Emma Luna (3); Maria Sell (2); Gigi Sandull (2); Brooke Brandenburger; Ainsley Cornwall; Anna Taylor | |||||||
| Wittenberg Goals: | Savannah Cross (3); Grace McLaughlin (2); Meghan Lythgoe; Evelyn Heil; Shania Stone; Bianca Gallegos | |||||||
| Saves: | Connecticut – Sarah Franco (14) ; Wittenberg – Jordan Brough (11) | |||||||
| Exclusions: | Connecticut – 5 ; Wittenberg – 14 | |||||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Connecticut – 3-for-14 ; Wittenberg – 1-for-5 | |||||||
| Sprints: | Connecticut – 2-for-6 (2nd, 6th) ; Wittenberg – 4-for-6 (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th) | |||||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Connecticut – None ; Wittenberg – None | |||||||
| Officials: | Victor Rarau; Alex Stankevitch | |||||||
Connecticut College’s Maria Sell (#12) tries to get off a shot as Wittenberg University’s Savannah Cross (#3) and Jordan Brough (#1) defend
Connecticut College’s Melia Lorch (#19) tries to stop Wittenberg University’s Evelyn Heil (#11) from getting off a shot
Wittenberg University’s Elizabeth Schexnaider (#9) defends Connecticut College’s Brooke Brandenburger (#6)
