Women's Water Polo | 3/11/2017 5:50:00 PM
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Mercyhurst women's water polo team dropped all three of its games at the George Washington Invitational held March 10-11. The Lakers (4-10) fell to Virginia Military Institute on Friday and lost to the host, George Washington, and St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday. Recaps to each game are below:
Mercyhurst 8, VMI 11
Mercyhurst lost its first game of the weekend by three to VMI. The loss snapped the Lakers' season-long three-game win streak.
VMI led 10-4 in the third quarter before the Lakers rattled off four of the next five goals that ultimately fell short of completing a comeback.
Mercyhurst had three players score two goals each to lead the team.
Nicki Borella,
Mackenzie Ryburn, and
Sarah Hershey each had a pair of goals, with
Jena Clinch and Cristal Moldanado adding one apiece.
Borella also led the Lakers with a game-high six steals.
Despite the 31-24 advantage in shot attempts, Mercyhurst's team shooting percentage was .258 to VMI's .458.
Mercyhurst 7, George Washington 10
In early Saturday morning action, the Lakers dropped another three-point game to the host George Washington.
Mercyhurst's offensive production came from three players in the game, with Ryburn leading the way with three scores.
Becky Insalaco and Moldanado contributed two goals each.
12 of the game's 17 goals tallied in the first two quarters of the game. GW took advantage of almost half of its power-play chances, finishing 5-for12.
The Lakers out-shot the Colonials 29-25.
Mercyhurst 6, St. Francis (Pa.) 8
The Lakers final game of the weekend ended up in a defensive battle with St. Francis on top by two goals. The six-goal total was the least they have scored since they scored five against Bucknell back on Feb. 18.
Mercyhurst struggled to score on its 33 shot attempts and wound up with a .182 shooting-percentage as a team. The Lakers went 3-for-11 on the power play.
Despite the offensive struggles, Mercyhurst had six players record at least two steals with
Kensey Clinch, Borella, and Insalaco leading the way with three each.
Hershey was the high scorer for Mercyhurst with two goals.
Amanda Wolterink, K. Clinch, Ryburn, and Moldonado all had one score.
Mercyhurst's next game will be a rematch with St. Francis (Pa.) on March 18 in Loretto, Pa.
