George Washington University
Mercyhurst
Women's Water Polo Advances Past Mercyhurst at Easterns
4/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
April 29, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, IN - No. 8 seed George Washington women's water polo allowed the game's first three goals, but responded with an 8-1 run and held off ninth-seeded Mercyhurst's late rally for an eventual 8-7 victory in the opening game of the CWPA Eastern Championship at Indiana's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.
The victory improves GW to 7-17 on the season and into a quarterfinal clash with nationally ranked No. 6 and tournament No. 1 seed Michigan at 4:30 pm Friday.
The Colonials managed to knock off the Lakers for a second time this season despite early foul trouble to junior leading scorer Allison Peotter, who was whistled for a pair of penalties in the first quarter that helped spark Mercyhurst to a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Rachael Bentley put GW on the board with 32 seconds left in the opening period to spark a four-goal run. Trailing 3-1 after a quarter, junior center Megan Walker netted back-to-back goals and rookie Katherine Berry tallied a man-up goal with 1:12 left before halftime to put the Colonials ahead, 4-3.
Mercyhurst's Lisett Calderon answered just 15 seconds after Berry's go-ahead goal to pull the Lakers even at intermission, 4-4.
Senior Erin Delker gave GW the lead for good with a goal with 2:24 to play in the third quarter, then Walker, freshman Adina Zepfel, and Bentley all struck in the fourth quarter to boost the Colonials' lead to 8-4 with 5:54 remaining.
The Lakers scored three times in a span of 3:53, with the final goal trimming GW's lead to 8-7 with 16 seconds to play, but the Colonials managed to burn the final seconds to move on to face the Wolverines for the second time this month.
Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Schou finished with 11 saves and Walker totaled three goals and two ejections drawn to lead GW. Bentley added two goals, followed by one marker each from Berry, Delker and Zepfel.
| CWPA Easterns Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final |
| Mercyhurst | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -- | 7 |
| George Washington | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -- | 8 |
GW Goals: Megan Walker (3); Rachael Bentley (2); Erin Delker; Katherine Berry; Adina Zepfel
Mercyhurst Goals: Rachel Griepsma (3); Lisett Calderon (2); Nicole Nelson; Laura Perez
Saves: GW - Charlotte Schou (11) ; Mercyhurst - Hope Rozelle (8)
Exclusions: GW - 15 ; Mercyhurst - 6
Advantage Opportunities: GW - 2-for-6 ; Mercyhurst - 3-for-15
Sprints: GW - 4-for-4 ; Mercyhurst - 0-for-4
Cards: None
Officials: Alex Stankevitch, Eddie Ajuz
