GROVE CITY, Pa. — Elizabeth Matlin (Fr., Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and Riley Waters (Sr., Portland, Ore./St. Mary’s Academy) both scored four times to share Player of the Game accolades as Macalester College tripped up host Grove City College, 15-5, in the first round of the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship at the Wolverines’ Longnecker Competition Pool.
In a battle of three-time CWPA Division III Champions, 2017, 2018 and 2019 titlist Macalester (6-11, 4-4 CWPA Division III-West) jumped out to a 5-0 lead versus 2010, 2011 and 2012 winner Grove City (7-9, 6-2 CWPA Division III-East) and never looked back in rolling to a 10-goal victory.
Courtesy the win, Maclaester advances to a 12:40 p.m. semifinal game on Friday, April 22, versus the winner of a quarterfinal clash between Division III No. 5-ranked/defending CWPA Division III Champion/CWPA Division III-West regular season champion Austin College and Carthage College. The Scots are guaranteed to finish no lower than Fourth Place in the final 10-team championship standings and achieve the program’s seventh Top Four mark as the team has previously placed first (2017, 2018, 2019), fourth (2011, 2013, 2014), fifth (2012, 2015), sixth (2010) and seventh (2016).
Macalester raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first five minutes of the first quarter as Annika Krueger (Sr., Emerald Hills, Calif./Sequoia), Sydney Hollingsworth (Jr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), Eleanor Michaud (Jr., Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and Matlin ticked off scores at 6:23, 6:01, 4:49 and 3:11, respectively. Hollingsworth capped off the Scots’ surge by lining in a shot with 1:29 to widen the gap to 5-0.
Reese Trauger (Jr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) snapped Macalester’s scoring string with back-to-back tallies at 1:13 and 35 seconds as the Wolverines pulled back to within 5-2 heading into the second quarter.
Macalester recovered the goals in the first 3:30 of the second quarter as Krueger (6:19) and Waters (4:46) torqued in tallies to inflate the Scots’ scoreboard advantage to 7-2.
Trauger chipped a goal off the difference at 3:33 by converting on a man-up opportunity, but Matlin responded at 1:03 to allow Macalester to enter halftime with an 8-3 lead.
Matlin’s score ignited a seven-goal run until the 5:02 mark of the fourth quarter as Matlin (7;22, 3:05) and Waters (6:35) dented the twine in the third quarter before Michaud (7;25), Waters (6:42, 5:02) opened the final frame to make it 14-3.
Trauger terminated the scoring spree by rifling in a five-meter penalty shot at 4:48 before Hollingsworth (4:05) and Elaine Miller (Sr., Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) (2:12, man-up) exchanged strikes in the final minutes.
Waters (four), Matlin (four), Hollingsworth (three), Michaud (two) and Krueger (two) all contributed multi-goal games for Macalester which is seeking to claim the program’s fourth consecutive championship. The 2017, 2018 and 2019 champion, the Scots did not have a chance to defend its three-year run as the 2020 season was cancelled, while Macalester did not compete in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Grove City – which will face Utica College at 11:20 a.m. on Friday, April 22, in the consolation side of the championship bracket – Trauger (four) and Miller (one) combined for the Wolverines’ five goals.
The home team can now finish no higher than Eighth Place in the final standings as the Wolverines can at best add a Fifth Place mark after achieving first (2010, 2011, 2012), second (2013), third (2021), fourth (2015), fifth (2014, 2016, 2019) and sixth (2017, 2018) in Grove City’s previous CWPA Division III Championship appearances.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Macalester College (6-11, 4-4 CWPA Division III-West) |
5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | – | 15 |
| Grove City College (7-9, 6-2 CWPA Division III-East) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | – | 5 |
| Grove City Goals: | Reese Trauger (4); Elaine Miller | |||||
| Macalester Goals: | Riley Waters (4); Elizabeth Matlin (4); Sydney Hollingsworth (3); Eleanor Michaud (2); Annika Krueger (2); | |||||
| Saves: | Grove City – Unknown ; Macalester – Unknown | |||||
| Exclusions: | Grove City – 2 ; Macalester – 13 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Grove City – 3-for-13 ; Macalester – 0-for-2 | |||||
| Sprints: | Grove City – 4-for-4 ; Macalester – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Brandon Nicholson; Martin Murray | |||||
Macalester College’s Sian Lewandowski (#8)
Grove City College’s Kamryn Kerr (#2) defends a backhand shot by Macalester College’s Sam Logue (#11)
Macalester College’s Brooke Lane (#15) defends Grove City College’s Kamryn Kerr (#2)
