ERIE, Pa. — Trailing 8-2 at halftime, the Mount St. Mary’s University women’s water polo mounted a fierce comeback against the host Mercyhurst University Lakers at the Curtis Robinette Memorial Invite. However, time eventually ran out as the Mountaineers came two goals short in a 12-10 defeat. Earlier in the morning, the Mount fell to Salem University, 18-11.
Mount St. Mary’s drops to 4-9 on the season.
Serena Thurman led the Mountaineers in goal scoring with five on the day, including four in the game against Salem. Fellow graduate student Naomi Sanders earned the team’s other hat trick in the Mercyhurst contest. Ana Luisa Cotta and Rebecca Valentine registered multi-goal efforts in both games.
Lauryn Thomas supplied many of the goals for the team, finishing with eight assists. Cotta, Beatrice Vieira and goalkeeper Hannah Keyser added three steals in the finale.
The Tigers of Salem pulled away in the first half of Sunday’s opener, leading 14-5 at the break. In the third they pushed the advantage to double digits, where it remained until a miniature late rally over the final minutes.
Riley Thompson opened the second half with Mercyhurst, scoring a goal to spark the Mount’s rally. The unit scored four times across the final four minutes of the third period, reducing the gap to 11-7. However any hopes for a sustained rally got squashed in the opening minutes of the fourth, as the game stalled with no offensive production. Three man up goals helped trim the deficit further but time ran out on the comeback attempt.
Release courtesy Mount St. Mary’s University Athletics Communications
