ERIE, PA.—The #4 Carthage College water polo team's road to their first CWPA Championship began with a quarterfinal match against #5 Grove City College at the Hallman Aquatics Center in Erie, Pa. on Saturday, hosted by Penn State-Behrend. Strong play on both ends of the pool propelled the Lady Reds to an 18-2 victory over Grove City College. Lady Reds goalie
Emma Jeronimus commanded the defense with 17 saves in the game, one of them occurred on a penalty shot.
Carthage's victory secured them a spot in the CWPA Semifinal against #1 Macalester College later in the day.
Mae Van Beest registered a hat trick for the Lady Reds, but it wasn't enough in a 13-5 loss to the Scots.
The Lady Reds, who own a 6-11, 3-4 CWPA record after Saturday, will play Washington & Jefferson College in the CWPA Third Place Game tomorrow, Sunday, April 15 at 11:40 a.m. (ET).
Lady Reds 18, Grove City College 2
Among Jeronimus's 17 saves was a Wolverine penalty shot. "I just looked at the girl, then looked at the ball to make sure where she was going to shoot, then just hoped for the best," said Jeronimus. "I think we put in a lot of hard work and we work well together. These last few weeks have been a lot of training and communication in the pool. We've improved a lot since the beginning of the season."
Mae Van Beest was another key cog for the Lady Reds defense as she notched a game-high seven steals, along with two goals.
Jeronimus's offensive support began with
Allie Boothe, who finished with a game-high five goals along with three steals.
Jessica Graziano's consistency throughout 2018 continued with a four-goal game.
Arianna Dakuras registered three goals, while
Jane Eckles followed with two goals and three assists.
Mack Ryan and
Lauren Patt each contributed a goal to the Carthage offense.
"Great all-around effort today as seven players scored," said Lady Reds head women's water polo coach
Laura Coffman.
Macalester 13, Lady Reds 5
Mae Van Beest set the tone with a goal from the top of the key with 6:26 left in the first quarter to make the score 1-0. The Scots responded with a 6-0 run en route to a 6-1 lead with 3:38 left in the second quarter.
Van Beest narrowed the Lady Reds' deficit to 6-2 with her second goal of the game at the 3:38 mark of the second quarter.
Allie Boothe scored a goal with two defenders in her face with 0:40 left in the second quarter to narrow the Scots' lead to 6-3. Macalester would score with 0:27 on the clock to widen their lead to 7-3 over Carthage at halftime.
Macalester made things 8-3 at the 6:24 mark of the third quarter when Lucille Moran rebounded her own penalty shot, and converted with a goal. Van Beest put the finishing touches to her hat trick with 3:34 left in the third quarter to narrow Carthage's deficit to 8-4.
The Scots' 5-0 run gave them a 13-4 cushion with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter.
Elyssa Hawkins closed the game's scoring with a goal at the 1:23 mark of the fourth to make the score 13-5.
Van Beest led Carthage with a hat trick, while Hawkins and Boothe each chipped in a goal.
