NORTON, Mass. – First year center Ryanna Ritting (Perkaskie, Pa.) tallied a career-high six points, including four goals to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's water polo team in a 21-11 loss to visiting Connecticut College this evening at Balfour Natatorium in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 0-5 on the season, while the Camels improve to 2-4.
Wheaton recognized its lone senior team member, Izabella Agraz (Moraga, Calif.) prior to the match along with team manager Leanna McAuliffe on Senior Night.
Wheaton outshot Connecticut College, 41-37, but the Camels were able to convert at a higher rate than their host.
Ritting registered a game-high five steals, while Agraz netted four goals for the Lyons. First year attacker Mackenzie Kirby (Blue Ash, Ohio) scored a goal and added an assist and sophomore attacker Sophia Romo (Jupiter, Fla.) contributed with a goal and an assist to go with a steal. Junior center Issabel Babikova (South Portland, Maine) led all players with three assists in addition to a steal. Sophomore goalie Amelia Brown (Acton, Mass.) stopped eight shots for Wheaton.
First year 2-meter Sarah Nagel (Honolulu, Hawaii) tallied a game-high eight points on six goals and two assists and junior 2-meter Ainsley Cornwall (San Mateo, Calif.) also scored six times for the Camels. Sophomore Maddie Baybeck (Ann Arbor, Mich.) racked up six points on three goals and three assists to go with a pair of steals. Junior driver Emma Luna (Wahiawa, Hawaii) chipped in with five points, including a pair of markers. Baybeck was outstanding in goal for Connecticut College, stopping 19 of 25 shots in 16 minutes of play, while sophomore keeper Grace Isola (San Mateo, Calif.) turned back two of seven shots.
The teams traded goals through the first two minutes of play with Romo and Agraz each scoring for the home team and Cornwall finding the back of the net twice for Conn. in a 2-2 game with 5:57 to play in the opening quarter.
The Camels scored eight of the next nine goals over the next five-plus minutes to take a 10-3 advantage with 40 seconds left to play in the quarter. Nagel fueled the scoring spree with a trio of goals for the visitors. Ritting paused the string of six unanswered goals for Connecticut College with a goal coming for Wheaton with 15 ticks left in the opening period, before first year driver Catrina Dumas (San Francisco, Calif.) scored with just two beats left on the clock to give the Camels an 11-4 cushion at the end of one quarter of play.
Connecticut College scored three of the four goals tallied in the second quarter, including a pair of markers from sophomore driver Jada Keen (Kealakekua, Hawaii), to give the Camels an 11-goal advantage at 14-5. Agraz netted the Lyons' only goal of the quarter.
Nagel scored both of Connecticut College's goals in the third quarter, while Ritting found twine for Wheaton in the third quarter.
The Camels owned a 16-6 margin heading into the final quarter of action.
Agraz and Cornwall exchanged markers to open the fourth quarter, before first year Fiona Swift (Red Hill, Pa.) scored her first collegiate goal at the 5:54 mark of the quarter to pull the Lyons within 17-8. Baybeck scored two of the next three goals for Connecticut College to give it a 20-8 lead, before Kirby also recorded her first career marker for Wheaton. Ritting tallied the final two goals of the night.
The Lyons return to action on Friday, March 28 when they head to Grove City, Pa. to take on Austin College at 2:20 p.m., while the Camels travel to New Rochelle, N.Y. to play Iona University on March 23 at 1:00 p.m.
