ERIE, Pa. — The Penn State Behrend women’s water polo team fell twice in their own home-opening February Tournament by dropping games to crosstown foes Mercyhurst University, 14-2, and Gannon University, 17-8.
The Lions squared off against Mercyhurst in the season-opener.
After a 4-0 quarter in favor of the Lakers, Devon Van Rensburg (Johannesburg, South Africa/Crawford) put the Lions on the board just over a minute into the second quarter. Mercyhurst went on a five-goal scoring streak to end the first half with a 9-1 lead.
Maryn Horn (Houston, Texas/Jersey Village) scored the other goal for Behrend at the 4:48 mark in the third quarter. She recorded two steals and drew a pair of kickouts in the contest, while Rensburg added four steals.
Defensively, the Lions held their own in the second half. After allowing nine goals in the first half, Behrend only allowed two strikes in the third and three in the fourth quarters.
Scoring was widespread for Mercyhurst. Ten different Lakers notched goals in the game with Maddie Nye leading the team with four goals.
In the second match, the Lions’ dropped their second game of the year in suffering a defeat by Gannon.
After going down 1-0 in the opening minute of the game, Laruen Wood (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) found the back of the net to even the score.
The Lady Knights took control of the next three minutes by adding few more goals to have a 4-1 advantage.
At the 2:44 mark in the first, Allison McClure (Loveland, Ohio/Milford) ended Gannon’s hot streak by notching one of her three goals in the game. However, Gannon buried two more tallies in the closing minutes of the first quarter to hold a 6-2 edge.
Despite battling throughout the entire contest, the Lions could not withstand Gannon’s firepower as the Lady Knights tallied 10 goals in the first half, and seven more in the second for a 17-8 win.
In the match, Wood recorded three goals and two drawn kickouts, while McClure added two steals and two drawn kickouts to go along with her three-goal performance. JoJo Gager (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa) and Daniella Rio-Martinez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Sagrados Corazones) each scored their first goals of the season.
Release courtesy Penn State Behrend Athletics Communications
