ST. PAUL, Minn. — Cory McGrath (Jr., Flower Mound, Texas/Marcus) deposited five goals to claim Player of the Game recognition as Division III No. 9-ranked/defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Champion/CWPA Division III-West Region runner-up Austin College picked up a 19-11 victory over Connecticut College in the semifinals of the 2023 CWPA Division III Championship hosted at Macalester College’s Riley Pool.
Austin (9-9, 7-1 CWPA Division III-West) will return to the water at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, to face Division III No. 6/CWPA Division III-West Region Champion Augustana College for the championship. The Kangaroos – who claimed the 2021 and 2022 CWPA Division III Championships – are 1-1 versus the Vikings in 2023 as Austin claimed an 8-5 win on March 19 in Rock Island, Ill., and suffered a 13-8 setback on April 1 at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., during CWPA Division III regular season competition.
It will mark the second time in as many years Austin and Augustana will meet for the conference’s Division III crown as the ‘Roos garnered an 18-7 win against the Vikings last year at Grove City College in Grove City, Pa.
Overall, it marks the fourth consecutive title game appearance for the squad from Texas as Austin captured the COVID-19 impacted 2021 championship by dispatched Wittenberg University via a 20-6 score at Carthage in Kenosha, Wis., after falling to Macalester College by an 8-5 count in the 2019 tilt at Connecticut College in New London, Conn.
Facing 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 – the ‘Roos never trailed.
Lauren Olivier (Sr., Indio, Calif./Citrus College) broke the ice for Austin 54 seconds into the game prior to 2023 CWPA Division III-East Region Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Gigi Sandull (Fr., Kenilworth, N.J./Union County Vocational-Technical Schools) of Connecticut knotting the contest at one-all with 6:17 on the clock.
The pattern repeated itself as Alyssa Ross (Jr., San Jose, Calif./Leland) put the ‘Roos back in front at 2-1 12 seconds later, but Sandull stuffed in another equalizer at 5:14 to deadlock the teams at two-all.
Austin acquired some breathing room over the next two minutes as McGrath (4:55), Kate Askew (Sr., Highland Village, Texas/Marcus) (4:18) and Maddie Jacks (Sr., Richmond, Texas/Foster) (3:04, man-up) flummoxed the Camels’ defense with back-to-back-to-back strikes to open up a 5-2 lead.
Emma Luna (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii/Punahou School) shaved Connecticut’s deficit back to 5-3 at the 1:42 mark, but McGrath delivered an answer 11 seconds later to set the scoreboard at 6-3 by the conclusion of the opening frame.
In the second quarter, Jacks (6:38) and Ross (4:32, man-up) delivered for the reigning champions with Luna (5:39), Brooke Brandenburger (Fr., Sacramento, Calif./Christian Brothers) (3:19, man-up) and Maria Sell (Sr., San Matteo, Calif./Aragon) (2:40) accounting for the Connecticut offense as the Camels moved within 8-6 heading into halftime.
However, Connecticut’s hopes of a comeback were dashed in the dawning minutes of the third quarter as Ross (7:41), McGrath (6:59), Sammi Thiele (Jr., Keller, Texas/Keller) (5:54; 3:30) and Jacks (4:37) combined for a 5-0 outburst to cushion Austin’s lead to 13-6.
Luna attempted to reinvigorate the Connecticut offense by converting a man-up opportunity at 2:47, but McGrath responded in short order with two minutes on the clock to return the Kangaroos’ lead to seven at 14-7.
The Camels once again attempted to pose a comeback as Sandull closed the third quarter with a tally at 1:46 and Sell opened the fourth quarter with a marker at 6:36 to inch Connecticut within five at 14-9.
However, the trio of Ross (6:06, man-up), McGrath (5:39) and Jacks (4:04) pushed the spread to eight at 17-9 in placing Connecticut on its heels and on the path to defeat.
The teams traded goal until the final horn as Luna (3:50) and Brandenburger (13 seconds) deposited a pair for Connecticut, while Kylee Noble (Jr., Argyle, Texas/Guyer) (1:53) and Aubrey Pasky (Sr., Paso Robles, Calif./Paso Robles) (1:05) dumped in a duo for Austin to establish the 19-11 final score.
For Connecticut, Luna (four), Sandull (three), Brandenburger (two) and Sell (two) each accounted for multi-goal games. Goalkeeper Sarah Franco (Jr., Weston, Conn./Weston) stopped seven shots in taking the loss.
On the other end of the tank, McGrath (five), Ross (four), Jacks (four) and Thiele (two) combined to account for 15 of Austin’s 19 goals. Olivier, Noble, Pasky and Askew chipped in solo markers in support of a 15 save effort by goalkeeper Emily Engberson (Jr., Copper Canyon, Texas/Marcus).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Division III No. 9 Austin College |
6 | 2 | 6 | 5 | – | 19 |
| Connecticut College | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | – | 11 |
| Connecticut Goals: | Emma Luna (4); Gigi Sandull (3); Brooke Brandenburger (2); Maria Sell (2) | |||||
| Austin Goals: | Cory McGrath (5); Alyssa Ross (4); Maddie Jacks (4); Sammi Thiele (2); Lauren Olivier; Kylee Noble; Aubrey Pasky; Kate Askew | |||||
| Saves: | Connecticut – Sarah Franco (7) ; Austin – Emily Engberson (15) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Connecticut – 6 ; Austin – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Connecticut – 2-for-7 ; Austin – 3-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Connecticut – 0-for-4 ; Austin – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Connecticut – None ; Austin – None | |||||
| Officials: | Joe Peila; Tiffany Urbanski | |||||
Kalissa Noble (#10) defends Connecticut College’s Melia Lorch (#19)
Connecticut College’s Sarah Franco (#1)
Austin College’s Sammi Thiele (#21) spots an opening in the Connecticut College defense as Maria Sell (#12) closes in
