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Keenan Nets Six as Bucknell Edges Iona 17-16 OT in ECAC Championship Second Round
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Sophomore Hallie Kennan (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) scored a career-high six goals, including the tying tally at the end of regulation and what proved to be the winning goal in overtime, as the Bucknell University women's water polo team defeated Iona College 17-16 in overtime in the consolation bracket of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship at Princeton University's DeNunzio Pool. The eighth-seeded Bison will now play in Sunday's fifth-place game against the winner of Saturday evening's Harvard University-Wagner College contest. Iona fell to 1-8 on the season and will play for seventh place Sunday morning.
Despite battling the flu, Kennan had the best game of her two-year career with six goals. She tallied five goals in a game earlier this season and now leads the team with 16. Her fifth goal came in the closing seconds of regulation when a long shot of hers tied the game at 15-15.
A total of 10 Bison tallied goals in the contest as no other player netted more than two. Valentina Rozas (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) found the back of the net twice, giving her exactly 200 goals in her career, good for second in program history, while fellow co-captain Shana Palencia (Glendale, Calif./Hoover) tallied one goal and one assist as she crossed the 200-point plateau for her career.
Kandis Canonica (Burlingame, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) came one shy of her own program record with five assists, while her six points equal Kennan for the most by a Bucknell (4-2) player this year.
Despite going to overtime, the Bison led 8-4 at halftime, but Iona exploded for seven goals in the third quarter. Bucknell tallied five of its own in the period that featured 12 of the game's 33 goals.
Freshman Tara Murao (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) drew four ejections, equaling the most by a Bison this year, while Rozas and goalie Alison Carter (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) each recorded three steals to lead the team. Carter also posted a career-high 17 saves in the win. It was her fourth game this season with double-figure stops and gives her 67 on the year.
Bucknell is now 4-4 all-time against Iona and has won three straight in the series.
Earlier in the day, the Bison lost to top-seeded the University of Maryland 10-5. Amanda Skonezney (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) scored two goals and Carter had eight saves.
Bucknell's Sunday game against either Harvard or Wagner will take place at 11:30 a.m. The Bison have finished in the top three at the ECAC Championship the last three times they have participated in the event.
Release courtesy Bucknell Athletic Communications
