Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst women's water polo wrapped up the Curtis Robinette Memorial Tournament Sunday with two games on the ledger for the team. They began their morning with Chapman in a highly contested game that saw the Panthers come out on top, 11-10, before a tough-fought 6-4 loss at the hands of Gannon as the weekend finale.
How it Happened
Frame number one against Chapman was one that was ruled by defense as neither team was able to do much in way of scoring. Both teams mustered one goal in the frame with Chapman firing the opening salvo just one minute into the game and the Lakers trying things up two minutes later at the 5:06 mark things to Sakura Gavin finding the back of the net.
The Lakers found their stride on offense in the second period with four goals in the frame, helping them to a two-goal lead at the halftime break. After a solid first day in the water Bri Allstun got back to work with the first goal of that strong stretch while she was followed by the second goal of the game for Gavin to make it 3-2 with 4:44 to go until halftime. From there, Alexa Corrao and Rachel Vlietstra both dented the twine with Vlietstra's goal making it 5-3 at the break.
The Panthers made the right adjustments during halftime and clawed their way back closer to even in the third, outscoring the Lakers 3-2. It was Vlietstra once again scoring for Mercyhurst while Krista Domaracki got in on the action to make it 7-6 in favor of the Lakers going into the final frame. Chapman had found their rhythm on offense and began to be more aggressive in the final eight minutes and it proved to be what they needed, scoring five times in the period to help secure the slim one-goal win.
Game two against Gannon started out in similar fashion to the Laker's first game as defense was the name of the game early on. Only one goal was scored in the first eight minutes with Gannon finding the back of the net midway through the period to help them secure the lead. Vlietstra helped tie things up in the early going of the second, but the Golden Knights had a rebuttal to help them take a lead into the halftime break, scoring twice to make it 3-1.
After another quiet quarter on offense for the Lakers in the third, they began to find their groove in the final period of play. The Lakers scored three times in the quarter in their effort for the comeback. Gavin got the scoring started, denting the twine just seconds into the period as she hoped to spark a rally. It did not quite happen, though, as the team had to wait another seven minutes before they scored again. Allie Dombkowski scored with just under a minute to go before Vlietstra rounded out the offensive effort in the final few seconds, but it was not enough in the two-goal decision.
Highlights
Sakura Gavin led the way on the day in goals with five to her line while adding one assist. She was followed by Rachel Vlietstra who finished with two goals in each game for a total of four. Vlietstra's efforts went further than her scoring as she finished tied for the team-lead in assists with three, tying freshman Freya Green.
Next Game
The Lakers go back out on the road to round out the month of February next weekend. The team heads for Cambridge, Ma. for a four-game set with action beginning on Saturday, February 24th, with Siena and Harvard before bouts with La Salle and Wagner the following day.
