ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Emma Halle (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) scored five times to claim Player of the Game laurels as Division III No. 9-ranked Washington & Jefferson College survived against Carthage College, 16-14, in the opening round of the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at Augustana’s College Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
W&J (13-6, 6-2 CWPA Division III) advances into the tournament semifinals where the Presidents will take on the Division III No. 8 Macalester College Scots – which defeated Grove City College by a 15-3 score earlier in the day – at 1:00 p.m. Central on Saturday, April 12. Carthage (5-20, 3-5 CWPA Division III) falls into the consolation side of the bracket as the Firebirds will meet Grove City at 10:00 a.m. on April 12 with a spot in the Fifth Place game at stake.
In a back-and-forth game which saw eight ties (2-2, 5-5, 6-6, 8-8, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13) as the two teams slugged it out with eyes on qualifying for the championship semifinals, the Presidents gained the early advantage as Halle (7:13) and Laura Anthony (Sr., Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) (4:28, penalty shot) staked W&J to a 2-0 margin.
Mak Werner (Fr., Tinley Park, Ill./Tinley Park) (4:07, penalty shot) and Brenna Carstens (Jr., Coronado, Calif./Coronado) (2:30) erased the lead in short order, but Hallie Ratcliff (So., Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) (1:19) put the Presidents back in front prior to sister Emmie Ratcliff (Fr., Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood) padding the margin to 4-2 via a buzzer-beater.
Halle hurled in her team’s fifth strike with 6:03 on the second quarter clock, but the Firebirds ignited a comeback as Grace Steinberg (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) (3:36), Werner (2:40) and Yamila Areizaga (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) (2:02, penalty shot) balanced the scoreboard at five-all. However, Hallie Ratcliff put W&J back in front prior to halftime by cashing in a man-up opportunity with 1:36 on the clock to make it 6-5 at the break.
Brenna Carstens (Jr., Coronado, Calif./Coronado) drew Carthage even 17 seconds into the third quarter via a man-up strike (7:43) before the Presidents regained the lead 21 seconds later as Sydney Neumann (Sr., Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) responded with a man-up marker of her own at 7:22. Anastacia Didovich (Sr., Venice, Fla./Venice) built the lead to a pair at 8-6 by bombing a ball into the twine at 6:42, but once again Carthage rallied back as Areizaga (5:11) and Werner (4:14) squared the squads at eight-all.
Anthony drilled in penalty shot (4:01) and man-up (2:18) scores to push W&J back in front at 10-8, but the Firebirds burned the Presidents as Areizaga (2:01, penalty shot; 1:14) delivered twice in the waning moments of the third quarter to draw Carthage even with Washington & Jefferson at 10-all heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The tables turned within the first 18 seconds of the final frame as Kaylin Machuca (So., Corona, Calif./Santiago) put Carthage in front for the first time by denting the twine with 7:42 left to play. Halle made it 11-all at 7:14 via a man-up shot, Kiera Crawley (Fr., Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) returned the Firebirds to the lead (12-11) by converting a six-on-five bid at 6:31 and Halle flushed a natural goal at 6:27 to make it 12-all.
Emmie Ratcliff (5:31) and Carstens (4:49) swished man-up chances to build and erase another W&J lead and make it 13-all with under five minutes left to play.
It marked the last time the two teams were tied as Autumn Woollcott (Fr., Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) (4:27), Didovich (2:33) and Halle (1:30) torched the Firebirds with a three-goal surge to push in front 16-13 with 90 seconds left on the clock.
Carthage attempted to rally back but could only muster a man-up score by Xiomara Trejo (Fr., Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) with 21 seconds on the clock to establish the 16-14 final.
For Carthage, Areizaga (four goals), Carstens (three goals-three assists), Werner (three goals-one assist), Crawley (one goal-one assist), Steinberg (one goal-one assist), Trejo (one goal) and Machuca (one goal) accounted for the offense in support of a seven save effort by netminder Rylee McGee (Sr., Schaumburg, Ill./Conant).
Halle (five goals), Anthony (three goals-four assists), Hallie Ratcliff (two goals-three assists), Didovich (two goals-two assists), Emmie Ratcliff (two goals), Neumann (one goal-two assists) and Woollcott (one goal) racked up the Presidents’ offense to aid a three stop effort by goalkeeper Alliey Cunningham (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township).
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Carthage College (5-20, 3-5 CWPA Division III) |
2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | – | 14 |
| Division III No. 9 Washington & Jefferson College (13-6, 6-2 CWPA Division III) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | – | 16 |
| W&J Goals: | Emma Halle (5); Laura Anthony (3); Emmie Ratcliff (2); Anastacia Didovich (2); Hallie Ratcliff (2); Sydney Neumann; Autumn Woollcott | |||||
| Carthage Goals: | Yamila Areizaga (4); Brenna Carstens (3); Mak Werner (3); Kiera Crawley; Kaylin Machuca; Xiomara Trejo; Grace Steinberg | |||||
| Saves: | W&J – Alliey Cunningham (3) ; Carthage – Riley McGee (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | W&J – 10 ; Carthage – 11 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | W&J – 7-for-11 ; Carthage – 6-for-10 | |||||
| Sprints: | W&J – 1-for-4 (2nd) ; Carthage – 3-for-4 (1st, 3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | YC – W&J (Head coach Nikola Malezanov, 5:45 left in 3rd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Tiffany Ruiz-Urbankski; Andy Mattson | |||||
Washington & Jefferson College’s Autumn Woollcott (#18) defends Carthage College’s Yamila Areizaga (#6)
Carthage College’s Rylee McGee (#1) goes up to make a save
Washington & Jefferson College’s Anastacia Didovich (#10) looks for an opening as Carthage College’s Kaylin Machuca (#15) defends
