MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Carthage women's water polo team took down Monmouth College 10-9 on a last-second goal to begin the day, before falling to Austin College 19-6 on Sunday at the Pepper Natatorium.
The Lady Reds (3-4, 2-2 CWPA) opened up a quick 3-0 lead in the first quarter against Monmouth (0-7, 0-4 CWPA) on a pair of scores from Meghan Fisher and one from Megan Cales. While the home team would respond with a goal of their own, Maddi Marsh retaliated for Carthage to set the score at 4-1 after the first quarter.
A second score by Marsh midway through the second period made it 5-1 in favor of the Lady Reds, before Monmouth responded with a score minutes later. Carthage would add one more to their total in the final second of the half, as Morgan Fingerson scored to make it 6-2. Carthage was first on the board in the third quarter, as Fisher scored to extend their lead. However, Monmouth would score three unanswered to close out the period, closing the gap to 7-5.
A pair of goals from the home team tied the match at seven, with Fisher scoring her fourth to begin a flurry of goals in the final minutes of play. The two teams traded quick scores, with Cales putting the Lady Reds back up 9-8 as the clock read 1:46. With 1:15 remaining, Monmouth drew it even at nine-all, before Cales launched a shot from distance that found the back of the net with one second left, giving Carthage a 10-9 victory.
Game two against Austin College (4-9, 4-0 CWPA) began with six goals from the opposition before Cales scored to make it 6-1 near the end of the first quarter. While the Lady Reds would add two more in the second quarter on points from Arianna Dakuras and Nell Behr, they would trail by seven at the half. Carthage was unable to climb back in, eventually falling by a final score of 19-6.
The Lady Reds will be back in action this week, when they travel to Florida for a scrimmage with Washington and Jefferson College on Wednesday, March 11 at 10 a.m.
"We started off the morning really well and played pretty organized water polo. However, we got complacent and allowed Monmouth back into the game. We need to do a better job of playing four full quarters."
"Against Austin, we allowed the game to get out of hand through individual errors and frustration. Austin is a well conditioned team and we played to their strengths and played away from ours. If we are to improve in this league we need to do a better job of playing to our strengths and being resilient throughout the weekend."
Quick Facts
- Carthage has won both of their matchups with Monmouth College this season, and now owns a 12-5 record all-time against them.
- After scoring three yesterday, Megan Cales added five goals today including a buzzer beater to clinch the win over Monmouth College in game one.
- The freshman added an assist and two ejections drawn on the day.
- Arianna Dakuras and Meghan Fisher led the charge defensively in game one, each collecting a pair of steals while Fisher tallied four goals and one assist as well.
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