George Washington University-vs.-Saint Francis University Scoresheet (PDF)
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Alana Ponce (Fr., Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor) posted a hat-trick to claim Player of the Game recognition as George Washington University doubled-up Saint Francis University, 12-6, to earn a spot in the 2018 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship Seventh Place game at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.
GW (14-15, 3-5 CWPA) advances to the Seventh Place game on Sunday, April 29, at 9:00 p.m. against the winner of a consolation game pitting No. 23-ranked Harvard University versus the host Bison. Saint Francis (12-19, 0-8 CWPA) has its season come to a close as the Red Flash’s defeat secures the Ninth Place position in the nine-team field.
The Colonials wasted little time in taking command of the game as Scarlett Hallahan (Sr., San Diego, Calif./La Jolla), Ally Jochim (So., Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach) and Ponce deposited natural goals with 6:31, 1:30 and 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter, respectively, to stake George Washington to a 3-0 lead after eight minutes of action.
Following a score by Maggie Ball (Sr., Saratoga, Calif./Saint Francis) at the 6:50 mark of the second quarter to push the lead to 4-0, the Red Flash broke the ice as Marialena Seletopoulou (Fr., Glyfada Athens, Greece/Yannapoulous School) stroked in a shot with 6:03 left in the first half to move within 4-1.
GW closed out the second quarter with a 2-1 run to carry a 6-2 lead into the break as Erin McGeoy (Sr., Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) (4:16, even-strength) and Jacqueline Bywater (Sr., Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) (20 seconds, man-up) sandwiched a five-meter penalty shot by Seletopoulou (2:13).
Following halftime, Ponce tacked on her second goal of the game with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter to push the lead to 7-2. Another five-meter penalty shot (6:09) and a natural goal (4:44) by Seletopoulou inched Saint Francis within three at 7-4, but Ponce (1:55) and McGeoy (37 seconds) finished the quarter by converting on back-to-back six-on-five bids to build the lead to 9-4.
Another man-up score by Jaleh Moaddeli (Fr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) exactly one minute into the fourth quarter made it 10-4 before Kelly Fehr (So., Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) notched Saint Francis’ third five-meter penalty shot at 5:52 to shrink the margin back to five goals at 10-5.
Bywater and Moaddeli added some insurance by burying feeds with 5:23 and 4:47, respectively, to enlarge the lead to a game-high seven goals at 12-5.
Saint Francis chipped its final deficit down to six at 12-6 as Lani Merrill (Sr., San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente (Saddleback College)) put away a man-up chance with 3:41 to play. The Red Flash had a final opportunity to close within five, but another five-meter penalty shot – SFU’s fourth of the game – failed with 1:26 on the clock.
For George Washington, McGeoy, Moaddeli and Bywater each chipped in pairs of markers to join Ponce (three) in netting multi-goal games. Ball, Hallahan and Jochim each scored once to go along with a six save effort by goalie Samantha Runyon (So., San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch).
For Saint Francis, Seletopoulou notched four goals with Merrill and Fehr both finding the back of the cage once. Goalie Kate Wilke (So., Burbank, Calif./Burroughs) took the loss with 14 saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Saint Francis University | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 6 |
| George Washington University | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | – | 12 |
| GW Goals: | Alana Ponce (3); Erin McGeoy (2); Jaleh Moaddeli (2); Jacqueline Bywater (2); Maggie Ball; Scarlett Hallahan; Ally Jochim | |||||
| Saint Francis Goals: | Marialena Seletopoulou (4); Kelly Fehr; Lani Merrill |
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| Saves: | GW – Samantha Runyon (6) ; Saint Francis – Kate Wilke (14) | |||||
| Exclusions: | GW – 11 ; Saint Francis – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | GW – 4-for-8 ; Saint Francis – 4-for-11 | |||||
| Sprints: | GW – 4-for-4 ; Saint Francis – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Alex Stankevitch, Julie Snyder | |||||
Saint Francis University’s Aimee Baur (#4) tries to reach George Washington University’s Ally Jochim (#10)
George Washington University’s Maggie Ball (#15) unleashes a shot as Saint Francis University’s Kelly Fehr (#5) attempts to slide over on defense
George Washington University’s Hannah Hathaway (#18) looks to pass as Saint Francis University’s Julia Kreidinger (#16) defends
Saint Francis University’s Amber Rogers (#17) stuffs George Washington University’s Ally Jochim (#10)
