Bucknell University-vs.-Harvard Unviersity Scoresheet
PROVIDENCE, R.I — Ally Furano (So., Stamford, Conn./The Ursuline School) capped off her second season at No. 21-ranked Bucknell University by scoring four times to claim Player of the Game honors and power the Bison to an 11-9 defeat of No. 16 Harvard University in the Third Place game of the 2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship hosted by Brown University at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.
Bucknell (25-12) gained the victory by using a 4-2 scoring outburst in the fourth quarter as the Bison achieved an all-time best Third Place finish at the CWPA Championship following earlier fourth (2006), fifth (2010, 2016, 2018), sixth (2008, 2014, 2017), seventh (2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015), eighth (2003, 2012), ninth (2000) and 11th (2002) place marks in the many versions of the CWPA/Eastern Championship since 1999.
Harvard (21-8) gained the early lead in the game as Grace Thawley (Fr., Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) curved in a shot 54 seconds into the first quarter. The Bison responded at 5:34 via an equalizer by Nina Benson (Jr., Henderson, Nev./Green Valley), but the Crimson pulled back ahead at 1:44 courtesy a strike by Olivia Price (So., Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo).
Trailing 2-1 with time running down in the first quarter, Bucknell charged back into the game as Gigi Rojahn (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) and Ally Furano exploited holes in the Harvard defense to bury natural goals at 1:10 and 18 seconds, respectively, to push the Bison ahead for the first time at 3-2.
The lead lasted until the 2:20 mark of the second quarter when Thawley tossed in her team’s third tally to make it three-all. However, Paige Furano (Fr., Stamford, Conn./The Ursuline School) kept up the family tradition by torquing in a go-ahead score with 57 ticks remaining in the first half to provide Bucknell a 4-3 lead at the break.
Harvard extinguished the Bison’s hopes of pulling away and coasting to victory as Price (5:32, even-strength) and Lana Gorlinski (Jr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) (3:42, man-up) ticked off back-to-back successful heaves to eliminate their team’s deficit and push the Crimson ahead at 5-4.
Benson blasted in a tying score at 3:08 by cashing in on a six-on-five bid, but Price returned the lead to Harvard nearly a minute later by slipping a ball into the twine at 2:10.
The game continued to sway back-and-forth over the remainder of the third quarter as Ally Furano (56 seconds, one second) sandwiched a score by Sofia Carrera-Justiz (Jr., Coral Gables, Fla./Ransom Everglades) with 16 seconds on the clock as Bucknell tied the score at six-all, fell behind 7-6 and rebalanced the scoreboard at seven-all heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The pattern continued into the fourth quarter as Thawley completed a hat-trick 49 seconds into the final frame (8-7) prior to Benson wrapping up a hat-trick of her own at 6:01 to once again deadlock the teams at eight-all.
Bucknell finally gained the upper hand against the Crimson in the waning moments of fourth quarter as the sisters of Paige (2:42) and Ally Furano (56 seconds) tag-teamed the cage for back-to-back goals to give the Bison a 10-8 margin with under a minute to play.
Harvard refused to go silently, however, as Kristen Hong (Sr., Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) closed out her collegiate career with a strike at the 48 seconds mark to pull the Crimson within one at 10-9.
Bucknell iced the victory as Paige Furano completed a hat-trick with one second remaining to establish the 11-9 final score in the fourth meeting of the year between the two programs.
For the Bison, Ally Furano (four), Paige Furano (three) and Benson (three) all notched hat-tricks to accompany a single tally by Rojahn. Georgia Lewis (Fr., Redwood, Calif./The Castilleja School) earned the win between the pipes with three saves.
Price and Thawley both finished with hat-tricks for Harvard to go along with solo markers from Gorlinski, Carrera-Justiz and Hong. Goalie Sam Acker (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn) took the loss with 10 saves.
Overall, Bucknell squares the 2019 season-series at two-all as the Bison fell to the Crimson on the road in Cambridge, Mass. (8-6 L at Harvard Invitational, March 3) and at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (15-13 L, March 31) before claiming a 9-7 win at home in Lewisburg, Pa. on April 6.
For Harvard, the team’s Fourth Place finish ties the all-time best mark by the program in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) era of 2001-to-present as the Crimson previously placed second (1988, 1990, 1995), third (1989, 1992, 1998, 2000), fourth (1999, 2017), fifth (1993, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005), sixth (2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016), seventh (2001, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018) and eighth (1997, 2006, 2007, 2010) at the women’s CWPA/Eastern Championship.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Harvard University | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 9 |
| Bucknell University | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | – | 11 |
| Bucknell Goals: | Ally Furano (4); Paige Furano (3); Nina Benson (3); Gigi Rojahn | |||||
| Harvard Goals: | Olivia Price (3); Grace Thawley (3); Lana Gorlinski; Sofia Carrera-Justiz; Kristen Hong | |||||
| Saves: | Bucknell – Georgia Lewis (3) ; Harvard – Sam Acker (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Bucknell – 6 ; Harvard – 3 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Bucknell – 1-for-3 ; Harvard – 1-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Bucknell – 4-for-4 ; Harvard – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Josh Kratz; JR Perez | |||||
Harvard University’s Evan Tingler (#12)
Bucknell University’s Paige Furano (#4) looks for an opening as Harvard University’s Borden Wahl (#5) pursues
Harvard University’s Sofia Carrera-Justiz (#3) lines up a shot as Bucknell University’s Larissa Hodzic (#15) defends
Bucknell University’s Sarah Mooney (#5)
