ST. PAUL, Minn. — Eleanor Michaud (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) scored four times and goalkeeper Laurel O’Hare (Jr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) made 11 saves as host/Division III No. 10-ranked Macalester College controlled Connecticut College, 13-4, in the 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Third Place game.
Competing at home in Riley Pool, Macalester (8-10, CWPA Divison III-West) – which previously finished First (2017, 2018, 2019), Fourth (2011, 2013, 2014, 2022), Fifth (2012, 2015), Sixth (2010) and Seventh (2016) in prior appearances at the CWPA Division III Championship – never trailed in topping the Camels (10-8, 7-1 CWPA Division III-East).
Alana Nadolski (Fr., Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) staked the Scots to a quick 2-0 margin as the first-year found the net with 6:18 and 5:44 remaining in the first quarter. Maria Sell (Sr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) trimmed Connecticut’s deficit to one prior to the conclusion of the opening frame by putting away a shot at 5:27 as the Camels entered the second half trailing 2-1.
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 – evened the damage to begin and conclude the second quarter as Melia Lorch (Fr., Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) (7:10) and Emma Luna (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii/Punahou School) (46 seconds, man-up) sandwiched a notch by Michaud (4:16) as the Camels and Scots entered halftime deadlocked at three-all.
Playing in home water, Macalester dominated the second half for a 10-1 scoring advantage to turn a nip-tuck contest into a runaway.
Brooke Lane (So., Meriden, Conn./Hopkins School) swished back-to-back chances at 4:35 and 3:41 midway through the third quarter to put Maclaester ahead to stay at 5-3 prior to Michaud firing in a frozen rope penalty shot at 2:33 to double-up Connecticut, 6-3.
Gigi Sandull (Fr, Kenilworth, N.J./Union County Vocational-Technical Schools) snapped the Scots’ scoring run with one of her own with 2:03 on the clock, but Michaud completed a hat-trick with 1:17 left to provide Macalester a 7-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
From there, it was all Scots as Jess Palmer-Sammons (Fr., Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) (6:48), Nadolski (6:01), Michaud (5:09), Palmer-Sammons (4:27), Sydney Hollingsworth (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) (3:56) and Celia D’Agostino (Fr., South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) (18 seconds) accounted for a 6-0 run to close out the win.
For Connecticut, Sandull, Luna, Sell and Lorch each scored once to aid a combined six save effort by Camels’ goalies Sarah Franco (Jr., Weston, Conn./Weston) and Yiota Tsiali (So., Varvara, Greece/Anatolia College).
Michaud (four), Nadolski (three), Lane (two) and Palmer-Sammons (two) joined D’Agostino and Hollingsworth in accounting for Macalester’s offense.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Connecticut College |
1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 4 |
| Division III No. 10 Macalester College | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | – | 13 |
| Macalester Goals: | Eleanor Michaud (4); Alana Nadolski (3); Brooke Lane (2); Jess Palmer-Sammons (2); Celia D’Agostino; Sydney Hollingsworth; | |||||
| Connecticut Goals: | Gigi Sandull; Emma Luna; Maria Sell; Melia Lorch | |||||
| Saves: | Macalester – Laurel O’Hare (11) ; Connecticut – Sarah Franco (5, 28 minutes), Yiota Tsiali (1, 4 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Macalester – 5 ; Connecticut – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Macalester – 1-for-6 ; Connecticut – 1-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Macalester – 4-for-4; Connecticut – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Macalester – None ; Connecticut – None | |||||
| Officials: | Tiffany Urbanski; Aleks Mitrevski | |||||
Macalester Collge’s Eleanor Michaud (#3) rises to shoot as Connecticut College’s Brooke Brandenburger (#6) defends
Connecticut College’s Maria Sell (#12) and Macalester College’s Jess Palmer-Sammons (#12)
Connecticut College’s Melia Lorch (#19) drops off a pass versus Macalester College’s Kendall Strauss (#18)
2023 CWPA Division III Championship Third Place: Macalester College
