WHITTIER/ORANGE, Calif. — The Division III No. 6-ranked Macalester College women’s water polo team took a little road trip between its double-header games today by starting in the evening at the Slade Aquatics Center in Whittier, Calif. to face Division III No. 7 Whittier College before venturing to the Allred Aquatics Center in Orange, Calif, for a match-up versus Division III No. 4 Chapman University. The Scots split the doubleheader by beating Whittier, 7-5, and losing to Chapman, 12-8.
Macalester moves to 7-4 on the season after the non-conference duels.
In the first game of the day, Whittier got out to an early two-goal lead before junior Molly Lemmon (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) banged in the Scots’ first goal. One more from the Poets made it 3-1 before sophomore Mak Kratz (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) notched another marker for Macalester before halftime.
Kratz’s goal started a 5-0 run that lasted until the five-minute mark in the fourth quarter. The 12-minute stretch also saw senior Jess Palmer-Sammons (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) score twice and Anna Gaisser (Seattle, Wash./Ingraham) and junior Hannah Fasi (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School) score once each.
The Poets nailed another goal to cut the Scots’ lead to 6-4, but Lemmon sank the dagger with four minutes to go. Whittier scored soon after that shot, but Macalester tightened the screws to close the game and held the Poets scoreless the rest of the way.
In the second game, the Scots once again faced a 3-1 deficit partway through the second quarter, with their lone point coming from senior Kendall Strauss (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock) this time . Although Mac managed three more goals in the frame, Chapman tallied four more and took a 7-4 lead into halftime.
The third quarter started with a strong defensive stand from both teams, leaving both goals empty until the Panthers found the back of the net with less than two-and-a-half minutes left. Macalester answered with 10 seconds left when first-year Katie Martin (Bryn Athyn, Pa./Germantown Academy) scored on the power play with an assist from Alice Lemmon (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township).
Strauss tabulated another goal to cut the Chapman lead to two points, but the Panthers refused to let the Scots back into the game, rattling off three straight goals to put the game away.
Senior goalkeeper Jayden Kratt (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) went the distance in both games, notching 10 saves and two steals. 11 out of the 12 Scot field players scored one or more goals on the day. Lemmon, Palmer-Sammons, Strauss, Gaisser and first-year Reese Winegar (Hoffman Estates, Ill./William Fremd) each netted two goals on the day. Against Chapman, Gaisser logged three assists in addition to one of her goals.
Release courtesy Macalester College Athletics Communications
