ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University Women's Water Polo team will begin their 2022 postseason this Friday at the WWPA Championships hosted by Fresno Pacific University. The Lakes will match up against the No.1 seed from the West division in Cal State East Bay in the first round of action tomorrow at noon.
Laker Overview
The Lakers enter the postseason after posting a (3-17, 0-6 WWPA) record during the regular season. They finished that schedule with their closest WWPA conference match of the year, an 11-12 loss to Gannon two weeks ago. The Lakers will enter Friday's contest with three girls who tallied over 30 points in the regular season. Hanna Good finished the year as the teams leading goal and point scorer, the junior produced 28 goals and 38 points in 20 games of action. Sakura Gavin is the next highest Laker point scorer with 34. Her 22 goals were good enough for second on the team. Allie Dombkowski rounds out the top three point scorers with 32 points. Her 17 assists were tops on the team, and she added 15 goals as well.
Scouting Cal State East Bay
The Pioneers have gone 13-14 this season with a perfect 6-0 record against WWPA opponents. Cal State East Bay has had losses against ranked opponents in 11 of their 14 defeats this season. They are 0-11 against ranked opponents with their closest match against one being a 7-6 loss against No.25 Brown back in February.
The Pioneers are led on offense by Adrien Van Dyke and Auriel Bill who have both amassed over 90 points this season. Van Dyke leads the team with 60 goals to go along with 30 assists while Bill's 55 goals and 44 assists give her a team-high 99 points throughout the regular season.
How the Bracket Shapes Out
Depending on how the first rounds of games go, the Lakers will match up with either McKendree of Cal State Monterey Bay in the second portion of games to be played on Saturday. From there the Lakers will either participate in the 7th, 5th, 3rd, or Championships match on Sunday.
Last Time Here
Last season, the Lakers found themselves in the WWPA Championship game after defeating McKendree, Gannon, and Fresno Pacific by narrow margins. The Lakers then ultimately fell in the Championship match to Salem by a 8-4 margin. The Lakers will hope to get their revenge on the No.1 seeded team from the East this time around.
