ST. PAUL, Minn. — Player of the Game Reese Trauger (Sr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) scored six times – including a pair in the decisive fourth quarter – as Grove City College raced out to a 6-0 first quarter lead and needed to outlast Penn State Berhend, 18-14, to start the second day of the 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at Macalester College’s Riley Pool.
The Wolverines (5-15, 4-4 CWPA Division III-East) advance to a game later today at 3:20 p.m. Central against Wittenberg University with a spot in the Fifth Place game on Sunday, April 23, at stake. Due to the loss, the Lions (2-19, 2-6 CWPA Division III-East) will see their season come to a close at 6:00 p.m. Central this evening in the Ninth Place game as Penn State Behrend battles the fallen from a consolation game pitting Washington & Jefferson College and Utica University.
Grove City – which previously placed First (2010, 2011, 2012), Second (2013), Third (2021), Fourth (2015), Fifth (2014, 2016, 2019, 2022) and Sixth (2017, 2018) in the history of the CWPA Division III Championship – jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter as Tia Kanal (Sr., York, Pa./Central York) ticked off back-to-back even-strength strikes (6:36, 5:13) and converted a man-up chance (2:35) before Trauger (2:05), Kiley Sill (Fr, Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) (1:31) and Kamryn Kerr (So., East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) (two seconds, man-up) forged imprints on the back of the Lions’ cage.
Darragh Martin (Fr., Green Lane, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) put Penn State Behrend on the board 52 seconds into the second quarter and Susie Carrillo (Fr., Fresno, Calif./Clovis North Educational Center) followed with a five-meter penalty shot strike at 5:33 to pull the Lions within four at 6-2.
Sill snapped PSB’s scoring run by burying a shot at 4:38, but Marley Persch (So., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) and Emily McNaughton (Sr., Seven Fields, Pa./Pine-Richland) delivered responses at 4:11 and 3:36, respectively, to make it a 7-4 affair.
Trauger (2:15) and McNaughton (1:50) exchanged tallies to set the scoreboard at 8-5 before Riley McCullough (So., Spring, Texas/Oak Ridge) and Trauger heaved in markers at 1:35 and 1:16, respectively, to make it 10-5 entering halftime.
Carrillo opened the second half/third quarter by lining in a shot at 7:34 to shrink Grove City’s lead to 10-6, but Kerr lobbed in a man-up answer at 5:00 to keep the differential at five (11-6).
The back-and-forth continued as McNaughton (4:05), Kanal (3:35, man-up), Persch (3:16, man-up) and Trauger (3:02) put away shots to make it 13-8 and set-up a comeback try by the Lions.
Shannon Young (Sr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) shrank the margin to 13-9 at 2:35 before Persch swished back-to-back chances at 1:39 and 55 seconds to close the gap to 13-11. Kerr ended the run with 18 seconds on the clock by arching a ball into the twine with 18 seconds left to make it 14-11 in favor of the Wolverines heading into the fourth quarter.
Penn State Behrend appeared primed to complete turning the tables on Grove City as Olivia Wright (Jr., Fairview, Pa./Fairview) (7:03, man-up) and Young (6:15) tacked on scores in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to close the Lions within pouncing distance at 14-13.
However, the Wolverines bared their claws as Kerr (5:30, man-up; 2:58), McCullough (4:31) and Trauger (3:32) combined to sandwich a score by Nic Darrell (So., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) (3:21) for the 18-14 final.
For Penn State Behrend – which previously finished Fourth (2016), Fifth (2018), Seventh (2013, 2015, 2017), Eighth (2010, 2014, 2019, 2022) and Ninth (2011, 2012) at prior CWPA Division III Championships – Persch (four), McNaughton (three), Carrillo (two) and Young (two) led the way with multi-goal games. Wright, Darrell and Martin tacked on solo strikes in support of a three save performance by goalkeeper Kieffer Beckman (Fr., Wildwood, Mo./Eureka).
Trauger (six), Kanal (four), Kerr (three), McCullough (three) and Sill (two) combined for the Wolverines’ offense. Grove CIty – which improves to 3-0 in 2023 against Penn State Behrend following earlier 19-11 (March 18 at Penn State Behrend) and 17-14 (April 2 at Utica University) wins in CWPA regular season action – received seven saves from netminder Lea Steen (Fr., Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) to help the team lock-up at worst an Eighth Place finish in the final 2023 CWPA Division III Championship standings.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Penn State Behrend |
0 | 5 | 6 | 3 | – | 14 |
| Grove City College | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | – | 18 |
| Grove City Goals: | Reese Trauger (6); Tia Kanal (4); Kamryn Kerr (3); Riley McCullough (3); Kiley Sill (2); | |||||
| Penn State Behrend Goals: | Marley Persch (4); Emily McNaughton (3); Susie Carrillo (2); Shannon Young (2); Olivia Wright; Nic Darrell; Darragh Martin | |||||
| Saves: | Grove City – Lea Steen (7) ; Penn State Behrend – Kieffer Beckman (3) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Grove City – 7 ; Penn State Behrend – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Grove City – 4-for-8 ; Penn State Behrend – 3-for-7 | |||||
| Sprints: | Grove City – 4-for-4 ; Penn State Behrend – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Grove City – None ; Penn State Behrend – None | |||||
| Officials: | Joe Peila; Aleks Mitrevski | |||||
Penn State Behrend’s Susie Carrillo (#16) eyes an opening as Grove City College’s Kamryn Kerr (#2) defends
Grove City College’s Reese Trauger (#12) attempts a backhand versus Penn State Behrend’s Marley Persch (#19)
Grove City College’s Lea Steen (#1A) moves to cut off a scoring attempt by Penn State Behrend’s Shannon Young (#7) and Grove City’s Reese Trauger (#12) tussle
