NEW LONDON, Conn. – The ninth-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) womens' water polo team closed out its first-ever season with a 7-2 loss to number six seed Pennsylvania State University Behrend in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Championship hosted by Connecticut College at Lott Natatorium in New London, Conn.
The Lyons finish their season with an 0-13 record, while the Lions improve to 5-17 and advance to the seventh-place game against Grove City College tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
First year attacker Ava Biancheri (Westborough, Mass.) and junior utility player Allie Taylor (Raleigh, N.C.) each netted a goal for Wheaton. Sophomore Josephine Basco (Painesville, Ohio) contributed with an assist and a steal, while sophomore attacker Savannah Sedlock (Fairfax, Va.), sophomore center Issabel Babikova (South Portland, Maine) and sophomore utility player Marina Greenwood (Davis, Calif.) each recorded a steal. First year goalie Amelia Brown (Acton, Mass.) made three saves for the Lyons.
Sophomore utility player Kieffer Beckman (Wildwood, Mo.) and junior utility player Marley Persch (Hudsonville, Mich.) led Penn State Behrend with a pair of goals each. First year goalie Monica Villasenor (San Gabriel, Calif.) stopped 11 shots for the Lions.
Penn State Behrend scored all four of the opening quarter's goals, including two from Beckman to open the scoring. Persch scored with 46 ticks left in the period to give the Lions a 4-0 lead.
Biancheri put Wheaton on the board with the first marker of the second quarter coming with 5:37 left in the period. First year Scarlett Hall (Carlsbad, Calif.) answered for Penn State Behrend just 29 seconds later to increase the Lions' margin to 5-1.
Persch tallied the lone goal of the third quarter with 1:10 to go in the quarter to give Penn State Behrend a 6-1 advantage.
Taylor netted the first marker of the fourth quarter for the Lyons to pull them within 6-2 with 6:12 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Senior utility player Olivia Wright (Fairview, Pa.) capped the game's scoring with the Lions' seventh goal of the match with 5:41 remaining in the contest.
