ST. PAUL, Minn. — The trio of Charlotte Newport (So., Baytown, Texas/Ross S. Sterling), Casey Barragan (So., Commerce, Calif./La Serna/Fresno State University) and Lauren Dickinson (So., La Habra, Calif./Troy) each accounted for hat-tricks as Division III No. 6-ranked/Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III-West Region regular season champion Augustana College outmatched Carthage College, 18-6, to reach the semifinals of the 2023 CWPA Division III Championship at Macalester College’s Riley Pool.
Augustana (14-5 7-1 CWPA Division III-West) will return to the water at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, against the host/Division III No. 10 Scots of Macalester in the semifinals. The Vikings – which finished as the runner-up at the 2022 CWPA Division III Championship hosted by Grove City College in the program’s inaugural appearance at the championship – are 2-0 against Macalester in 2023 as Augustana claimed 8-7 (March 18 at Augustana) and 8-6 (April 2 at Carthage College) wins during the regular season.
Carthage (5-15, 1-7 CWPA Division III-West) – which notched a 9-8 defeat of Penn State Behrend in the opening game of the 2023 CWPA Division III Championship earlier in the day – is slated to continue the championship at 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, versus the winner of a consolation game pitting Washington & Jefferson College against Utica University. The Firebirds have faced neither the Presidents nor the Pioneers in 2023.
The game was significantly close in the early going as Newport swished shots with 7:26 and one second left in the first quarter for the lone strikes in the opening eight minutes.
Leading 2-0 following the opening frame, the Vikings widened the margin to four by the close of the first half.
Ocean Akau (So., Pana’ewa, Hawaii/Kamehameha) and Lauren Dickinson (So., La Habra, Calif./Troy) converted for penalty shot (7:41) and man-up (6:37) goals, respectively, to open up a 4-0 margin before Brenna Carstens (Fr., Coronado, Calif./Coronado) broke the ice for the Firebirds with a man-up tally at 3:04.
Augustana’s Victoria Guest (So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos) answered via another man-up score with 53 seconds on the clock prior to the squads exchanging markers from Carstens (32 seconds, penalty shot) and Barragan (15 seocnds, even-strength) for a 6-2 spread by halftime.
The Vikings put the contest away in the first two minutes of the third quarter as Barragan (7;46), Newport (7:03), Jillian Hagmann (So., San Jose, Calif./Santa Teresa) (6:38) and Carli Udovich (Fr., Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) (6:18) combined for four goals in the first 1:42 of the second half to widen the gap between the teams to 10-2.
Morrigan Bushroe-Stumpf (Fr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) terminated Augustana’s scoring spree by burying a man-up chance at 4:31, but the Vikings brought the curtain down on the third quarter with back-to-back-to-back strikes from Dickinson (4:01, man-up; 3:04, even-strength) and Abbey Ellis (So., Fresno, Calif./Sagner) (1:39) to acquire a 13-3 lead heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The lead swayed from nine-to-12 goals during the span of the fourth quarter as the teams traded successful shots.
Kaylin Machuca (Fr., Corona, Calif./Santiago) moved Carthage within nine (13-4) at 7:30, but consecutive scores by Guest (7:16) and Barragan (5:59) ballooned Augustana’s lead to 11 at 15-4.
Alyssa Sayatovic (Jr., Berwyn, Ill./Fenwick) made it a 10-goal game at 5:39, but Ellis (4:09) and Udovich (2:36) stuffed in shots to return a 12-score lead to the Vikings at 17-5.
From there, the teams both zipped in solo tallies as Yamila Areizaga (Fr., Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) and Sophie Arceneaux (So., Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) found the twine at 1:43 and 56 seconds (man-up), respectively, to establish the final score.
Carthage – which previously finished Second (2010), Third (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), Fourth (2013, 2019, 2021), Fifth (2011, 2012) and Seventh (2022) at the CWPA Division III Championship – received a pair of goals from Carstens along with solo strikes by Bushroe-Stumpf, Machuca, Sayatovic and Areizaga in support of a four save effort by netminder Emma Selman (Fr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville North).
Besides the game best offensive exploits of Newport, Barragan and Dickinson, Augustana received pairs of scores from Guest, Ellis and Udovich along with single markers by Akau, Hagmann and Arceneaux. Goalkeeper Lizzie Pelzman (So, Roseville, Calif./Roseville) posted 10 saves to pick-up the victory.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Carthage College |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | 6 |
| Division III No. 6 Augustana College | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | – | 18 |
| Augustana Goals: | Charlotte Newport (3); Casey Barragan (3); Lauren Dickinson (3); Victoria Guest (2); Abbey Ellis (2); Carli Udovich (2); Ocean Akau; Jillian Hagmann; Sophie Arceneaux | |||||
| Carthage Goals: | Brenna Carstens (2); Morrigan Bushroe-Stumpf; Kaylin Machuca; Alyssa Sayatovic; Yamila Areizaga | |||||
| Saves: | Augustana – Lizzie Pelzman (10) ; Carthage – Emma Selman (4) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Augustana – 6 ; Carthage – 9 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Augustana – 5-for-9 ; Carthage – 3-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Augustana – 2-for-4 (2nd, 3rd) ; Carthage – 2-for-4 (1st, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Augustana – None ; Carthage – None | |||||
| Officials: | Tiffany Urbanski; Aleks Mitrevski | |||||
Carthage College’s Ella Selman (#1) rises up to stop a shot by Augustana College’s Jillian Hagmann (#6)
Augustana College’s Maggie Caliendo (#8) looks for help as Carthage College’s Alyssa Sayatovic (#2) defends
Carthage College’s Alyssa Sayatovic (#2) and Augustana College’s Carli Udovich (#24) try for the ball
