MONMOUTH, Ill. — In their first Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) games of the 2020 season, the Carthage women's water polo team defeated Wittenberg 13-12 before falling to No. 8 Macalester 10-6 on Saturday at the Pepper Natatorium.

The Lady Reds (2-3,1-1 CWPA) started game one with two goals from Megan Cales to take a 2-1 lead over the Tigers (5-7, 1-1 CWPA). Goals from Nell Behr, Maddi Marsh and Cales saw the score move to 4-2 heading to the second quarter, before Wittenberg scored three unanswered to tie it at four. Following a goal from Cales to even the game at five, the two teams traded a trio of scores to make it 8-8.

A goal from Izzy Bertaud saw the game tied at nine going into the final quarter of play, before the Tigers once again took control of the game at the 4:27 mark to put them ahead 11-10. However, Meghan Fisher found the back of the net to tie it at 11, before responding to a Wittenberg score on her second goal of the game to give each team 12. With 41 seconds left, Fisher scored her third-straight goal to give Carthage the victory 13-12. 

In game two of the day, Macalester (3-3, 1-1 CWPA) began with two scores before Behr put the Lady Reds on the board to make it 2-1. After the Scots added a goal to begin the second quarter, Carthage would tie it at three with scores from Marsh and Fisher. However, Macalester would take a 6-3 advantage by the half, holding on to the lead through the remainder of the contest, eventually topping the Lady Reds by a final of 10-6.

Carthge will be back in the pool for another busy day tomorrow, March 8, when they take on Monmouth at 9:15 a.m. and Austin at 1:45 p.m.
 

Head Coach Ryan Castle

"Overall, I was happy with how much we have progressed since our last competition two weeks ago. We showed a lot of resilience and tenacity against a very well organized Wittenberg team. In the evening game, it was a very different story however. We broke ourselves down systematically against Macalester in the middle stretches and they really made us pay. We responded well in the fourth, but we need to do a better job of sticking to the game plan and relying on our systems."
 

Quick Facts

• Carthage is now 3-0 against Wittenberg after picking up a pair of wins over the Tigers last season.
• Freshman Megan Cales added three scores today and now owns a team-best 20 goals on the season.
• Meghan Fisher led the Lady Reds in scoring today, netting five across the two games.

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