GROVE CITY, Pa. — Megan DePrez (Jr., Claremont, Calif./Claremont) lined in a shot off a restart with four seconds left for the deciding factor as Washington & Jefferson College clipped Penn State Behrend, 12-11, to earn a spot in the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship Fifth Place game.
W&J (10-7, 7-1 CWPA Division III-East) – which entered the championship tournament as the East Region Champion – claims its fourth win of the year versus the Lions as the Presidents previously defeated Penn State Behrend 12-11 (March 19 at W&J), 11-10 (March 26 at Penn State Behrend) and 11-7 (April 10 at Connecticut College).
Historically, the Presidents have previously placed second (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), third (2013), fourth (2010, 2018) and 10th (2019) at the CWPA Division III Championship as the team will seek to claim its 10th Top Five finish.
Trailing 10-9 at the conclusion of the third quarter, Penn State Behrend erased its deficit and pulled ahead as Brooklynn Mocny (So., Sunnyvale, Calif./Homestead) contributed the equalizer at 7:08 of the fourth quarter before Angela Laier (Sr., Lansing, Mich./Holt) put away a go-ahead tally at 4:26 to gain an 11-10 lead.
The game swung back in favor of W&J in the closing minute as DePrez squared the teams at 11-all with 1:03 to go before popping the ball during a restart and lining in the game-winner with two seconds left to allow the Presidents to escape with a 12-11 victory.
The contest was nip-tuck throughout as Samantha Darrell (Fr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) opened the scoring 33 seconds into the first quarter to push Penn State Behrend ahead 1-0. Laura Anthony (Fr., Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) responded at 2:59 for W&J, Marley Persch (Fr., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) returned the lead to the Lions at 4:45 and Sydney Neumann (Fr., Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) posted another equalizer at 4:30 as the teams traded scoring blows throughout the first half of the opening quarter.
The Lions pulled ahead by a pair with under two minutes left in the first quarter as Mocny (1:28) and Shannon Young (Jr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) (1:03) found the back twine to push Penn State Behrend ahead 4-2. Marcella Gallardo-Russell (Fr., Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz) trimmed W&J’s deficit to one at 4-3 with 27 seconds left via a man-up strike, but Sarah Mancebo (So., Tulare, Calif./Mission Oak) closed out the first quarter with a marker at the four seconds mark to carry a 5-3 lead into the next eight minutes.
Anastacia Didovich (Fr., Venice, Fla./Venice) inched the Presidents back to within one (5-4) 20 seconds into the second quarter, but Darrell returned PSB’s lead to a pair at 6-4 with 5:40 on the clock.
However, Washington & Jefferson erased its deficit and pulled ahead prior to the halftime horn as Gallardo-Russell deposited shots at 4:02 and 1:38 to balance the scoreboard at six-all before Didovich stuffed in a go-ahead tally with six seconds left for a 7-6 Presidents’ margin at the break.
The lead was erased, recreated and finally built upon in the third quarter as Persch swished a man-up bid at 6:04 to balance the board at seven-all, Ryley McClellan (Jr., Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) pushed W&J back in front at 8-7 with 5:51 left before Laier squared the squads at eight-all at the 4:47 mark.
Washington & Jefferson gained some traction in the waning minutes of the third quarter as DePrez (4:05, man-up) and Didovich (3:05, penalty shot) took advantage of PSB errors to stake the Presidents to a 10-8 lead.
Penn State Behrend, however, refused to go silently into the good night as Young lined in a six-on-five chance with 12 seconds until the fourth quarter to move the Lions within one at 10-9 and set the stage for the climatic fourth quarter.
Gallardo-Russell, DePrez and Didovich finished with hat-tricks (three goals) in the victory for Washington & Jefferson, while McClellan, Neumann and Anthony each notched single scores. Cecelia Weiss (Sr., Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) stopped seven shots
For Penn State Behrend, Laier, Young, Mocny, Darrell and Persch each scored twice with Mancebo chipping in a solo marker in support of a 10-save effort by netminder Chloe Dodgen (Jr., Riverside, Calif./Hillcrest).
On Saturday, April 23, the Lions will aim to add to a legacy in which Penn State Behrend has previously placed fourth (2016), fifth (2018), seventh (2013, 2015, 2017), eighth (2010, 2014, 2019) and ninth (2011, 2012) in the program’s prior appearances at the CWPA Division III Championship.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Washington & Jefferson College (10-7, 7-1 CWPA Division III-East) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | 12 |
| Penn State Behrend (8-17, 5-3 CWPA Division III-East) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | – | 11 |
| Penn State Behrend Goals: | Angela Laier (2); Shannon Young (2); Marley Persch (2); Brooklynn Mocny (2); Samantha Darrell (2); Sarah Mancebo | |||||
| W&J Goals: | Marcella Gallardo-Russell (3); Megan DePrez (3); Antastacia Didovich (3); Ryley McClellan; Sydney Neumann; Laura Anthony | |||||
| Saves: | Penn State Behrend – Chloe Dodgen (10) ; W&J – Cecelia Weiss (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Penn State Behrend – 7 ; W&J – 6 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Penn State Behrend – 2-for-6 ; W&J – 5-for-7 | |||||
| Sprints: | Penn State Behrend – 2-for-4 (2nd, 3rd); W&J – 2-for-4 (1st, 4th) | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Michael Francis; Martin Murray | |||||
Penn State Behrend’s Brooklynn Mocny (#21)
Washington & Jefferson College’s Cecelia Weiss (#1) goes up for a save as Penn State Behrend’s Sarah Mancebo (#14) prepares to shoot
Washington & Jefferson College’s Jillian Curtis (#18) looks to get a shot off against Penn State Behrend’s Shannon Young (#7)
