ST. PAUL, Minn. — Carthage College starting goalkeeper Ella Selman (Fr., Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) returned to the cage with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and stopped a last second shot by Penn State Behrend to preserve a 9-8 victory for the Firebirds in the opening game of the 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship hosted by Macalester College at Riley Pool in the Leonard Center.
Selman – who stopped 12 saves in three quarters of work as Carthage (5-14, 1-7 CWPA Division III-West) held a 9-3 lead at the time of her departure – saw the Firebirds’ lead burn down in the fourth quarter to 9-4 at 4:28, 9-5 at 3:07, 9-6 at 1:26, 9-7 at the 56 seconds mark and finally 9-8 with 26 seconds left to force interim head coach Mack Ryan to reinsert her starter to preserve a one-goal victory.
The victory advances Carthage to a 5:20 p.m. Central showdown with Division III No. 6-ranked/No. 1 seed/CWPA-West Region regular season champion Augustana College in the quarterfinals. Augustana claimed the two prior meetings between the programs in 2023 by 11-2 (March 18 at Augustana) and 10-3 (April 2 at Carthage) scores.
Penn State Behrend (2-18, 2-6 CWPA Division III East) drops into the consolation side of the Division III Championship as the Lions return to the water on Saturday, April 22, at 10:00 a.m. Central against the loser of a first round game pitting Division III No.9/defending CWPA Division III Champion/CWPA Division III-West runner-up Austin College and Grove City College.
Carthage led from close to the opening whistle until the final horn against Penn State Behrend as Victoria Hodges (Jr., Oxford, Mich./Lake Orion) broke the ice 15 seconds into the game and insulated the margin to 2-0 with 5:18 on the clock in the opening frame to stake the Firebirds to a quick 2-0 margin.
The lead continued to balloon over the remainder of the first quarter as Kaylin Machuca (Fr., Corona, Calif./Santiago) (3:36, even-strength) and Morrigan Bushroe-Stumpf (Fr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) (1:44, man-up; 22 seconds, penalty shot) dented the twine to hand Selman a 5-0 lead to preserve.
Penn State Behrend answered 1:05 into the second quarter as Shannon Young (Sr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) spun in an even-strength marker at the 6:55 mark to pull the Lions back within four at 5-1. Hodges completed a hat-trick by cashing in a man-up chance at 4:51, but Penn State Behrend delivered answers at 3:49 and 3:12 by Marley Persch (So., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) and Nic Darrell (So., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), respectively, to chip Carthage’s lead down to 6-3.
However, Carthage returned its margin to five goals prior to the halftime horn as Kaitlynn LaGrone (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmor) and Hodges lined in even-strength (2:22) and man-up (50 seconds) responses, respectively, to push the FIrebirds out to an 8-3 lead.
The third quarter displayed significantly less offense as the lone goal came from Alyssa Sayatovic (Jr., Berwyn, Ill./Fenwick) tacked on a man-up marker with 6:42 left on the frame’s clock to provide Carthage a 9-3 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Faith Harris (Fr., Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) relieved Selman for the final eight minutes and the Lions roared back.
Persch (4:28, even-strength; 3:07, even-strength) and Darragh Martin (Fr., Green Lane, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) (1:26, man-up) moved Penn State Behrend within three at 9-6 before Darrell (56 seconds, even-strength) and Martin (26 seconds, even-strength) closed the gap to one at 9-8.
Following a Carthage turnover, the Lions had a final shot to knot the score and force overtime, but Selman stopped a liner with one second on the clock to preserve the win and advance Carthage into the quarterfinals.
For Carthage, Hodge (four), Bushroe-Stumpf (two), Machuca, LaGrone and Sayatovic all found the back twine, while Player of the Game Selman and Harris made 13 and four goals, respectively.
Courtesy the victory, the Firebirds earn the program’s 12th CWPA Division III Championship quarterfinal appearance as the team previously finished Second (2010), Third (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), Fourth (2013, 2019, 2021), Fifth (2011, 2012) and Seventh (2022).
Persch (three), Martin (two), Darrell (two) and Young combined for Penn State Behrend’s offense. Julie de Deus (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) made six saves for the Lions.
Penn State Behrend, which can now finish no higher than Fifth Place in the final 2023 CWPA Division III Championship standings, holds prior Fourth (2016), Fifth (2018), Seventh (2013, 2015, 2017), Eighth (2010, 2014, 2019, 2022) and Ninth (2011, 2012) Place marks at the event.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Carthage College |
5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 9 |
| Penn State Behrend | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | – | 8 |
| Penn State Behrend Goals: | Marley Persch (3); Darragh Martin (2); Nic Darrell (2); Shannon Young | |||||
| Carthage Goals: | Victoria Hodges (4); Morrigan Bushroe-Stumpf (2); Kaylin Machuca; Kaitlynn LaGrone; Alyssa Sayatovic | |||||
| Saves: | Penn State Behrend – Julie de Deus (6) ; Carthage – Ella Selman (13, 24:26), Faith Harris (4, 7:34) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Penn State Behrend – 8 ; Carthage – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Penn State Behrend – 2-for-7 ; Carthage – 5-for-8 | |||||
| Sprints: | Penn State Behrend – 0-for-4 ; Carthage – 4-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | Penn State Behrend – None ; Carthage – None | |||||
| Officials: | Tittany Urbanski; Victor Rarau | |||||
Penn State Behrend’s Susie Carrillo (#16) defends Carthage College’s Alyssa Sayatovic (#2)
Penn State Behrend’s Darragh Martin (#20)
Carthage College’s Alyssa Sayatovic (#2)
