La Mirada, Ca. - Mercyhurst women's water polo got their Western Water Polo Association Conference Tournament underway on Friday with the team grabbing a close victory in their opening. The team was face with the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds with the Lakers able to come away with the win, 8-7.

How it Happened

Mercyhurst fired the opening salvo of the game with newly crowned all-conference honoree Rachel Vlietstra grabbing the first goal of the game just 45 seconds in. She and her team were unable to go on a run an establish a lead, though, as FPU scored three times in a row to claim a 3-1 advantage. It was then the freshman Freya Green who made it a one-goal deficit at the break as he last-second attempt as Fresno Pacific's goal found the back of the twine, 3-2. 

The second period was a defensive battle as both teams ended up making adjustments that proved to be successful. There was only one goal scored in the second stanza with it belonging to the Lakesr as Allie Dombkowski knotted things up, 3-3, in the early portion of the quarter.

The third period was one that saw Mercyhurst claim their first lead since the opening few minutes of action. FPU managed to grab the first goal of the frame with them claiming a 4-3 lead at the 6:24 mark, but back-to-back goals from the Lakers helped them grab the lead. The first of the team's goals came courtesy of Sakura Gavin who scored just 30 seconds after the Sunbirds with the second coming from Grace Brzyski who make it 5-4 with just under 10 seconds to go in the frame.

Dombkowski got the first goal of the fourth to make it a two-score lead for the Lakers with just under six minutes to go in the game. From there, Fresno Pacific scored two to help them tie things up once more as the score stood at 6-6 with just under four minutes to go. Dombkowski then found the back of the net for the third time in the game few moments later to jump out in front once more before she scored her fourth goal at the 1:05 mark to help seal the win and help her team move on in the tournament.

Highlights

Allie Dombkowski was the go-to scorer in this one for the Lakers with four goals to her line for a team high, adding one assist to her ledger as well for a total of five points. She was also one of two players on the team to record multiple steals in the game, joining freshman Marley Hanlon, while having four drawn exclusions.

Next Game

Mercyhurst will return tomorrow for the semifinals of the tournament at 4:30 p.m. PT. The team now waits to see who they play with the winner of the first round matchup between Gannon and host and top-seeded Biola being their opponent.