BLOOMINGTON, IND.—The Carthage College women's water polo team opened day two of the Hoosier Invite on Saturday against #25 California Baptist University and McKendree University. The Lady Reds dropped a 17-4 morning bout with Cal Baptist, followed by an 8-7 win over McKendree University.
 
The Lady Reds begin their regular season with a 1-1, 0-0 CWPA record.
 
Cal Baptist 17, Lady Reds 4
 
Cal Baptist opened the game with a 6-0 lead with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter before the Lady Reds responded. Carly Strass notched a power-play goal for Carthage at the 2:33 mark of the first quarter to narrow their deficit to 6-1.
 
The Lady Reds closed the opening frame with a pair of goals from Maggie Hennigan, but couldn't narrow the gap in a 9-3 deficit at intermission. Cal Baptist strung together six goals to widen their lead to 15-3 with 7:01 remaining in the third quarter before Carthage tallied their final goal of the contest. Allie Boothe, who took a feed from Madi Anderson, fired a shot to the back of the net to make the score 15-4 at the 3:49 mark of the third quarter.
 
The Lady Reds held Cal Baptist to two goals for the remaining balance, but couldn't generated offensive flair in a 17-4 loss. Goaltender Emma Jeronimus notched eight saves in a complete-game loss.
 
Lady Reds 8, McKendree 7
 
The Lady Reds either led or tied McKendree the entire game. Carthage drew first blood at the 7:31 mark of the first quarter when Maggie Hennigan fired a shot to the back of the net to make the score 1-0. McKendree failed to score an even-strength goal the first three quarters of action as the Lady Reds found themselves with a 6-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Valerie Sorondo and Jillian Hoffman each tallied a goal for the Bearcats to cut Carthage's lead to 6-5 with 5:18 left in the game. Hennigan and Maci Anderson each tallied goals to push the Lady Red's lead to 8-5 before McKendree mounted a comeback.
 
The Bearcats notched a pair of goals to make the score 8-7 with 1:17 remaining in the game, which provoked both head coaches to use a timeout. Goalkeeper Emma Jeronimus stopped a Sorondo shot with under one minute left to help secure an 8-7 victory for Carthage.
 
The Lady Reds held a 28-24 advantage in shots.
 
Hennigan paced Carthage with four goals in the contest.
 
Carthage will return to action at the Monmouth College Tournament Saturday, March 4 – Sunday, March 5.