ST. PAUL, Minn. — Alana Nadolski (Fr., Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) of host/Division III No. 10-ranked Maclaester College scored five times to earn Player of the Game recognition as the Scots overcame a 4-1 deficit against Washington & Jefferson College to claim a 14-7 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at Riley Pool.
Macalester (7-10, 4-4 CWPA Division III-West) advances to a 12:40 p.m. semifinal clash on Saturday, April 22, against the winner of a quarterfinal showdown between Division III No. 6 Augustana College and Carthage College. Washington & Jefferson (9-9, 7-1 CWPA Division III-East) will take on Utica University at 11:20 a.m. in the consolation side of the bracket.
The Presidents – which previously finished Second (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Third (2013), Fourth (2010, 2018), Sixth (2022) and 10th (2019) at prior CWPA Division III Championships – trailed 1-0 with 5:19 left in the first quarter as Nadolski broke the ice for the Scots. However, the Presidents closed out the first quarter with a four-goal flurry as Ryley McClellan (Sr., Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and Sydney Neumann (So., Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) connected on shots at 5:06 and 4:32, respectively, to push W&J ahead prior to McClellan (1:46) and Neumann (30 seconds) insulating the margin to 4-1 by the close of the frame.
Macalester began to chip away at its deficit in the dawning moments of the second quarter as Eleanor Michaud (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and Lorelei Bell (Fr., Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) lined in shots at 4:42 and 4:11, respectively, to close within 4-3. Megan DePrez (Sr., Claremont, Calif./Claremont) snapped the Scots’ run at 3:49 to expand W&J’s lead back to 5-3, but Michaud buried a five-meter penalty shot (2:05) and Nadolski cashed in a man-up opportunity with 50 seconds on the clock to square the squads at five-all entering halftime.
The back-to-back goals ignited an 11-0 run by Macalester as the Scots decimated Washington & Jefferson’s defense throughout the first 12 minutes of the second quarter.
Following four minutes of scoreless action between the two teams to start the second half, Nadolski put Macalester in front to stay by notching man-up (3:55) and natural (2:17) tallies before Bell bombed in back-to-back blasts with 1:26 and two seconds remaining on the third quarter clock to acquire a 9-5 margin.
Brooke Lane (So, Meriden, Conn./Hopkins School) opened the fourth quarter with consecutive strikes at 7:32 and 6:00 before Kendall Strauss (Fr., Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock) (5:30), Nadolski (4:48) and Michaud (4:12) capped off the Scots’ scoring streak to stake Macalester to a 14-5 lead.
Washington & Jefferson chipped its final margin of defeat down to seven in the waning moments of the game as Laura Anthony (So., Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) (1:35) and DePrez (56 seconds, man-up) dented the mesh for the final 14-7 difference.
For W&J, DePrez, McClellan and Neumann notched pairs with Anthony contributing a single goal. Alliey Cunningham (So., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) turned aside two shots in 13:55 of work prior to exiting after a five-meter penalty shot at the 2:05 mark of the second quarter. She was relieved by Sky Wald (Fr., Granada Hills, Calif./John F. Kennedy) who allowed 10 goals with four saves over the final 18:05 to take the loss.
Macalester – which previously finished First (2017, 2018, 2019), Fourth (2011, 2013, 2014, 2022), Fifth (2012, 2015), Sixth (2010) and Seventh (2016) in prior appearances at the CWPA Division III Championship – received multi-goal performances from Nadolski (five), Bell (three), Michaud (three) and Lane (two) along with a solo marker by Strauss. Jayden Kratt (Fr., Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) made 13 saves to earn the win between the pipes for the Scots.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | – | 7 |
| Division III No. 10 Macalester College | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | – | 14 |
| Macalester Goals: | Alana Nadolski (5); Lorelai Bell (3); Eleanor Michaud (3); Brooke Lane (2); Kendall Strauss | |||||
| W&J Goals: | Megan DePrez (2); Ryley McClellan (2); Sydney Neumann (2); Laura Anthony | |||||
| Saves: | Macalester – Jayden Kratt (13) ; W&J – Alliey Cunningham (2, 13:55), Sky Wald (4, 18:05) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Macalester – 5 ; W&J – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Macalester – 3-for-6 ; W&J – 1-for-5 | |||||
| Sprints: | Macalester – 2-for-4 (3rd, 4th) ; W&J – 2-for-4 (1st, 2nd) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Macalester – None ; W&J – None | |||||
| Officials: | Joe Peila; Alex Stankevitch | |||||
Washington & Jefferson College’s Sydney Neumann (#15) defends Macalester College’s Jess Palmer-Sammons (#12)
Macalester College’s Eleanor Michaud (#3) tries for a steal against Washington & Jefferson College’s Megan DePrez (#8)
Maclaester College’s Jess Palmer-Sammons (#12) lines up a shot
