LEWISBURG, Pa.— The Long Island University women's water polo team kicked off play at the 2020 Bucknell Invitational on Saturday with two games. The Sharks battled 15th ranked Harvard in their opening contest, falling 11-8. LIU then came back in the evening with a 11-8 victory over Mercyhurst at Kinney Natatorium.
Game 1 - Harvard 11, LIU 8
The Crimson started the game off strong, netting five goals in the opening quarter. Momentum carried over into the start of the second with three more scores. LIU closed the second quarter with two goals to bring the score to 8-2 at the half. LIU held the advantage on goals in the second half, outscoring Harvard, 6-3 in the final two quarters. But the strong start gave Harvard the edge to hold on to the 11-8 win.
The Sharks had three multi-goal scorers against the Crimson. Freshman
Alejandra Aranguren led the way with a hat trick. Rookies
Jessica Dean and
Kate Hinrichs both netted two goals each. Freshman
Taylor Thurlow also scored her first career goal for LIU in the opening match. Dean also won all four of the sprints against Harvard.
Defensively, freshman
Jeannet Garcia led LIU with three steals. Freshmen
Rebecca Ansell and
Julia Zebak split time in the cage for the Sharks. Zebak recorded three saves and Ansell added two for LIU.
Game 2 - LIU 11, Mercyhurst 8
LIU started the second game of the day with a 3-2 lead after the first quarter. Mercyhurst battled back in the second stanza, outscoring the Sharks, 3-2 to tie the game up at 5-5 at the half. The third quarter was evenly matched as both teams netted a pair of goals. After each team traded goals to start the fourth quarter, LIU closed the game on a three-goal run to take the contest, 11-8.
Dean had a stellar performance for the Sharks, scoring a season-high six goals. She also dished out two assists and won three sprints against the Lakers.
Hinrichs added another multi-goal game for LIU with two goals in the game. Aranguren, Garcia and freshman
Kate Fischer all picked up a goal in the win.
LIU assisted on six of the team's 11 goals against the Lakers. In addition to Dean's two assists, freshmen
Jenna Anderson and
Erin Pascual along with Garcia and Hinrichs all picked up an assists.
On defense, the Sharks registered nine steals in game two. Hinrichs led the way with three steals while Anderson and Garcia recorded two steals each. LIU split time in the cage in the second game of the day. Ansell tallied five saves against the Lakers and Zebak added four saves and an assist for the Sharks.
UP NEXT
LIU closes out the weekend at the Bucknell Invitational with two more games on Sunday, February 8. The Sharks take on Salem University at 1:00 p.m. before ending the weekend against La Salle at 4:45 p.m.
