After winning two important SCIAC
league games in a row, the Pomona-Pitzer women’s water polo team welcomed the University of Redlands to Haldeman Pool April 4. The Sagehens showed off their offensive prowess
early in the game and displayed no signs of weakness as they crushed the Bulldogs to extend their winning streak to three games. The 16-5 win moves the team to
14-9 overall and 5-0 in SCIAC play, remaining alongside Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
as the only undefeated team left in SCIAC.
The game got off to a slow start
for the Hens as Redlands was able to stay close through the beginning of the
first quarter. After scoring the first two goals, P-P’s defense slipped, and
Redlands answered with two of their own to tie the game at 2-2. However, the
Hens quickly tightened their defense and went on to explode offensively for the
remainder of the game. After defender Vicky Gyorffy PO ’15 and utility player Hope Grant PZ ’17 put
shots into the back of the net at the end of the first quarter, the
Hens went on to score eight straight goals to put the game out of reach.
Attacker Sarah
Westcott PO ’15 had back-to-back goals in the second quarter, but it was fellow attacker Morgan
McCracken PO ’18 who stole the show offensively for the Sagehens. McCracken
scored five goals against Redlands, a season high, and passed Westcott to rank second in total goals this season with 34. P-P’s leading scorer this year,
Alyssa Woodward PZ ’15, had two goals in the game, bringing her goal total to 46 on the year.
While many of P-P’s leading scorers had goals in
the game, the Hens were also able to put in much of their second line after
creating a big lead early in the game. Defender Chessa Burke PZ ’17 and hole set Christina
Williamson PO ’17 had goals in the game, while hole set Carter Grant PZ ’15 also added a
goal, her fourth of the season.
“The second line contributed a
lot this game,” Megan Snow PO ’16 said. “Girls who do not normally
score put some points up on the board. The depth of our team has been one
of the main reasons for our team’s success this year.”
The Hens also traveled to the California Institute of Technology April 8 and defeated the Beavers 17-3. With a break from SCIAC play, P-P then faced off against Azusa Pacific University in the evening and won 14-10 as Woodward scored her 300th career goal.
The Sagehens return to SCIAC play against the University La Verne on April 11. With five straight wins behind them, the Hens
are confident going into the end of the season.
“We’re really
excited about the season and how we’ve been playing, and we hope to finish the
conference ranked first in the division,” Gyorffy said. “We’re
also keeping in mind the possibility of an NCAA play-in game after SCIAC
championships, so we have our sights set forward on getting as far as possible
in the rest of the season.”
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