Heather Crockett attempts to steal the ball against Macalester

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Host institution Macalester College struggled to find the back of the cage as Wheaton College knocked off the Scots 8-1 in the 2011 Division III Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Eastern Championship third place game at Macalester's Leonard Natatorium.

In a game during which the two teams combined for nine goals, both goaltenders saw significant quantities of shots.  Scots' netminder Chloe Kaulas (Fr., Chicago, Ill./Latin School) handled eleven in the match and increased her save total to 48 over the course of four games, while the Thunder's Karalee Angus (So., San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) matched the number of saves she had in her first two games (12) and finished the tournament with twenty-four.   

The scoring was opened by Wheaton's Morgan Sorenson (So., Altaderna, Calif./Westridge) just one minute into the first quarter. Less than two minutes later, Hannah Strauss-Albee (So., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) tied the game with what would end up being Macalester's only point in the match.

Wheaton answered back with a goal by Player of the Game Heather Crockett (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) at 2:03 in the first to regain the lead. The Thunder never looked back as Crockett was able to shut down Macalester's leading scorer, Katie Eulau (Fr., Saratoga, Calif./Castilleja) who was held to zero points after leading all scorers in the tournament.

Additional goal scorers for Wheaton included Linley Sullivan (So., Poway, Calif./Poway) with two points, while Jessica McGee (Jr., Troy, Mich./Troy) and Elsemarie DeVries (Fr., Somerset, Pa./Somerset) each scored once to round out the Thunder's eight goal tally.

Wheaton matched its finish during last season's championship and defended this season's third seed. Macalester improved upon its sixth place finish a year ago as the Scots will seek to continue moving up the conference standings with a team consisting predominantly of freshmen and sophomores.          

Macalester Goals: Hannah Strauss-Albee

Wheaton Goals: Heather Crockett (3); Linley Sullivan (2); Elsemarie DeVries; Jessica McGee; Morgan Sorenson

Saves: Macalester - Chloe Kaulas (11) ; Wheaton - Karalee Angus (12)

Exclusions: Macalester - 4; Wheaton - 4

Advantage Opportunities:  Macalester - 0-for-4 ; Wheaton - 1-for-4

Sprints: Macalester - 2-for-4 ; Wheaton - 2-for-4

Cards: None

Officials: Perry Korbakis, Ed Prystalski