ERIE, Pa. — The Mercyhurst University women’s water polo team concluded the 2026 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Erie Classic by dropping games to McKendree University, 13-10, and Salem University, 15-4, at the Hallman Aquatics Center.
Taking on McKendree, the Lakers got on the board first with a goal from freshman Bailey Dunn with just under seven minutes to play. The Bearcats scored three in a row to claim a 3-1 lead heading into the second quarter.
McKendree continued its offensive to take at three-score margin with under six minutes left in the second quarter. Fourteen seconds later, junior Freya Green responded with a goal for Mercyhurst, but the Bearcats answered with three goals in building a five-score lead. Senior Bri Allstun scored a goal for the Lakers before the Bearcats fired in back-to-back strikes. With one second left in the first half, freshman Joey Roedl lobbed in a shot to trim the Lakers’ deficit to five going into halftime.
The Bearcats opened up the third quarter with two more goals, pushing their lead to seven. Fifth year Alexa Corrao scored her first marker of the contest in narrowing the lead back down to six. Just a minute later, she proceeded to score her second goal of the game to chip Mercyhurst’s deficit back to five. Freshman Adriana Boltes Moragues scored back-to-back goals to keep the Lakers in the game as the team trailed by three scores entering the fourth quarter.
With just under six minutes left, Corrao scored her third goal of the game, giving her a hat-trick on the day ,and narrowing the lead to just two. The Bearcats responded with two goals of their own to rebuild a four-score margin. Dunn scored with seven seconds remaining as McKendree held on for a 13-10 victory.
Squaring off with Salem, the Tigers scored four consecutive goals in the first quarter to go ahead to stay.
The Lakers opened up the second quarter with a tally by sophomore Victoria Mastrangelo to chip the Lakers’ deficit down to 4-1. However, the Tigers scored four more goals to pull away. Senior Krista Domaracki stopped Salem’s scoring run, with a goal for Mercyhurst, but the Tigers flushed another strike with 19 seconds left in the first half for a 9-2 lead.
In the third quarter, Domaracki scored her second goal of the game. The Tigers once again pounced for a scoring run by notching a trio of tallies. Freshman Kate Martin snapped the spree by denting the twine with three seconds left in the frame to inch the Lakers back to within eight tallies entering the fourth quarter on the way to a 15-4 victory.
Information courtesy Mercyhurst University Athletics Communications
