ERIE, Pa. — The Penn State Behrend women’s water polo team collected its first win of the season by edging Grove City College, 15-13, in the Lions’ 2026 home opener in the Junker Center Pool.
Competing in interim head coach Emily McNaughton‘s first game, Penn State Behrend saw history made as goalkeeper Monica Villasenor broke the record for most goals scored by a goalie in program history. She took the last shot of the game and scored the final goal to break the program record with six career tallies as a goalie.
Behrend gained a 5-1 lead after the first quarter as Grove City got on the board in the first 1:12 of the game, but the Lions scored five unanswered markers for the lead.
Grove City tied the game at seven-all with five goals in the second quarter and both teams netted three goals in the third quarter to keep it tied at 10-all.
However, Behrend outscored the Wolverines by a 5-3 count over the span of the final eight minutes to take the victory.
Mackenzie Rickerd, Kaitlyn True and Darragh Martin each posted a hat trick. True tallied the eventual game winner with 1:28 remaining in the contest before Villasenor swished her record-breaking insurance strike with time expiring on the clock.
