Grove City, Chatham, Macalester, Wheaton and W&J Open 2010 CWPA Division III Slate

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Grove City College, Macalester College, Wheaton College (Ill.) and Washington & Jefferson College opened the first-ever Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III schedule at Chatham University with fireworks by combining for 85 goals over four games.

Through Day 1 of competition, Grove City stands at 2-0 with victories over Wheaton (10-5 W) and Chatham (13-6 W), while Wheaton is 1-1 with a victory over Washington & Jefferson (11-10 W).  Macalester is 1-0 to date on the weekend with a victory over Chatham (19-11 W).

Game recaps of the four contests follow (Thanks to Chatham AD Amy Buxbaum for providing detailed box scores):

Game 1: Grove City 10, Wheaton 5

Brittany LaPlame (Jr., Hollywood, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Chelsea Johnson (So., Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) combined for seven goals through three periods of play as No. 9-nationally ranked Grove City College (2-4) opened up a 10-2 lead to cruise to a 10-5 victory over Wheaton College (0-2) in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III opener for both teams and the league.

The Wolverines wasted little time in slashing their out to a lead as LaPlame talled back-to-back markers at 5:51 and 5:26 of the first period to push Grove City out to a 2-0 margin.  Wheaton halved the margin before the end of the period as Kathryn Sheehy (Fr., Ventura, Calif./Foothill Technology) unleashed a shot which found the back of the cage with 2:15 remaining in the opening frame to pull the Thunder to within 2-1 through eight minutes of competition.

Grove City regained a two goal margin and cushioned the lead to 4-1 before halftime as LaPlame completed a hat-trick 51 seconds into the second period before Johnson netted her first tally of the day at 1:24.

In the third period Grove City poured on the offense as Kate Stiebler (Sr., Columbus, Ohio /Upper Arlington) struck for a goal at 6:47 before Johnson added her second score of the day at 6:28 to build the Thunder's deficit to 6-1.  Wheaton attempted to rally back as Emma Higgins Morris (Jr., Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) deked and sprinted her way through the Wolverines' defense for a tally at 5:39, but Johnson unleashed back-to-back strikes at 4:34 and 3:20 to push Grove City ahead 8-2.  Amanda Thompson (Sr., Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Lauren Baur (Jr., North Wales, Pa./North Penn) closed the period with back-to-back scores at 2:46 and 1:50, respectively, to hand the Wolverines a 10-2 lead through 24 minutes of competition.

Wheaton closed the gap to five goals by the final horn as Heather Crockett (So., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) registered scores at 4:39 and 1:52, while Morris tacked on her second goal of the day for the 10-5 final.

Game 2: Macalester 19, Chatham 11

Catherine Flint (So., Palo Alto, Calif. / Henry Gunn) scored nine goals and Sarah Ellerton (Sr., Suffield, Conn. / Suffield Academy) added seven tallies as Macalester College (1-0) opened its 2010 season with a 19-11 victory over host Chatham University (0-1).

Ellerton started the scoring for the Scots 1:52 into the game as she struck at the 6:08 mark to put Macalester in front 1-0.  Chatham responded less than 90 seconds later when Natty Burford (So., Temeculah, Calif./Temeculah) found the back of the cage with a shot at 4:45.  However, Macalester closed out the period with consecutive scores by Flint (3:56) and Ellerton (2:19) to carry a 3-1 lead into the second period.

Both teams' offenses exploded in the second period as the Scots and Cougars combined for 13 goals led by five strikes by Flint, pairs by Ellerton and Chatham's Sachelle Taylor (So., Brooklyn, N.Y./Holy Child) and three from the Cougars' Jenna Luek (Sr., Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) to give Macalester a 10-7 lead at intermission.

Flint started the volleys of goals with back-to-back markers at 7:41 and 7:14 to push the Scots' lead out to 5-1.  Leuk sliced the margin back to three scores at 6:56, but Flint struck again at 5:51 to make it 6-2.  The margin continued to be trimmed back to three goals and expanded back to four tallies as the Taylor and Ellerton exchanged markers at 4:39 and 4:15 and again at 4:12 and 3:49 to set the score at 8-4.

Chatham appeared poised to pull within striking distance before halftime as Burford and Luek netted tallies at 3:39 and 2:31 to inch the Cougars to within 8-6, but Flint was too much over the remainder of the half sandwiching a pair of goals (2:23, 00:07) around a marker by Luek (00:25) for a 10-7 Scots' lead at the break.  

Macalester sealed the victory with a 5-2 scoring advantage in the third period fueled by pairs of goals by Flint and Ellerton as the Scots carried a nearly insurmountable 15-9 lead into the final eight minutes of play in the fourth period.

The Scots cushioned the margin with four more scores in the fourth period to take the eight goal victory.

Between the pipes, Hannah Straus-Albee (Fr., Plymouth, Minn. /Wayzata) finished with 13 saves to pick up the win for Macalester, while Allison Bodine (So., Frederick, Pa./Urbana) recorded 10 saves and Chelsea Mummert (Jr., York, Pa./Central York) chipped in eight as the duo combined for 18 stops for the Cougars.

Game 3: Wheaton 11, No. 8 Washington & Jefferson 10

Heather Crockett (So., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) scored with 10 seconds left on the game clock to give Wheaton College (1-2) an 11-10 victory over No. 8-nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson College (1-1) and the first upset in the history of the Collegiate Water Polo Division III.

Tied 8-8 entering the fourth period, Wheaton never trailed over the final eight minutes of play taking a 9-8 lead 53 seconds into the period when Crockett buried a shot at the 7:07 mark.  W&J responded to tie the score with a shot-and-score by Jessica Barby (Sr.   Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) at 4:16, but Crockett uncorked her second goal of the period to make it 10-9 with 1:05 on the clock.

Needing a score to force overtime, the Presidents turned to Katie Silvestri  (Sr.   Kingsville, Md./McDonogh) who struck with 19 seconds left in the period to tie the score at 10-all and force overtime from all appearances.

However, Crockett completed her one-woman offensive onslaught unleashing a shot as the clock ticked down to 10 seconds which sailed past back-up goalie McKenzie Graf  (Fr.  Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and into the cage for the game-winner.

Overall, Graff took over for starter Polly Ziegler (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) to start the fourth period as the first-year stopped four shots and allowed three goals over the final eight minutes of play in taking the loss for the Presidents.

The game was all W&J through the first 9:39 of play as Barby gave the Presidents a 1-0 lead with a score at the 4:34 mark of the first period before Kate Van Schaik  (Jr.,  Arnold, Md./St. Mary's) built the lead to 2-0 with a score 36 seconds into the second period.

Trailing 2-0, Wheaton used a marker by Jessica McGee (So., Troy, Mich. / Troy) at 6:21 and consecutive tallies by Emma Higgins (Jr., Deerfield, Ill. / Deerfield) at 4:57 and 4:11 to go ahead 3-2.

The Presidents responded with a string of goals by Barby and Shaik as Barby connected at 2:38 and 2:11, while Shaik found the back of the cage again with 1:29 left in the first half to put W&J in front 5-2. 

However, the Thunder climbed back into the game as McGee and Morris evened the score at 5-5 before the break with goals at 1:17 and 47 seconds, respectively.

The teams traded shots in the third as Crockett netted the first of her five goals on the day at the 6:39 mark.  W&J countered with goals by Schaik at 5:14 and 4:39 to go in front 7-6, but Crockett struck again at 4:29 to retie the score.

Neither team could gain an advantage the rest of the way as Barby and Linley Sullivan (Fr., Poway, Calif./Poway) traded goals at 3:40 and 1:17 to set the score at 8-8 and establish the drama for the fourth period.

In cage, Ziegler made eight saves over three periods before being relieved by Graff to start the fourth period. Karalee Angus (Fr., San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) went the distance for the Thunder finishing with 12 saves and the win.

Game 4: No. 9 Grove City 13, Chatham 6

Brittany LaPlame (Jr., Hollywood, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas), Chelsea Johnson (So., Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), Lauren Baur (Jr., North Wales, Pa.North Penn) and Kate Stiebler (Sr., Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) combined for all 13 of Grove City College's goals as the No. 9-ranked Wolverines (3-4) defeated host Chatham University 13-6.

Baur, who led all scorers with four goals, was one of three Grove City players to record a hat-trick as LaPlame and Johnson both tacked on three goals to accompany Brush's pair of a sole marker from Stiebler.

The Wolverines ran out to an 8-0 lead by the end of the first period and never looked back in recording their third victory of the season.

Trailing 9-0 with 6:21 left in the first half, Selina Breiener (So., Moon Township, Pa./Moon) broke the ice for the Cougars as Chatham trailed 12-1 at halftime.

Natty Burford (So., Temeculah, Calif./Temeculah), Sachelle Taylor (So., Brooklyn, N.Y./Holy Child) and Breiner all added scores in the third period to move the Cougars to within 12-4 through 24 minutes of play.

Paige Dunlap (Jr., Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) and Taylor tacked on goals in the fourth period to inch Chatham to within 12-6 with 3:48 to play in the contest before LaPlame closed out the scoring to complete a hat-trick and add insurance.