 |  |
George Washington University Rolls Notre Dame College, 20-9, to Reach CWPA Eastern Championship Ninth Place Game
PROVIDENCE, RI -- Megan Walker (Sr., San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) scored six times to garner Player of the Game honors as George Washington University rolled past Notre Dame College, 20-9, to reach the ninth place game of the 2012 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Eastern Championship at Brown University's Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center.
The victory advances the Colonials (10-15) to the ninth place game at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 29 against Mercyhurst University. It will mark the third meeting of the year between George Washington and Mercyhurst as the Colonials picked up 13-7 and 12-4 wins earlier this year.
Notre Dame (6-18) will face Gannon University at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday in the 11th place contest as the Falcons and Golden Knights will meet for the fourth time in 2012. Gannon is 3-0 versus Notre Dame this year, grounding the Falcons 13-5, 13-11 and 10-9 in competition earlier this season.
Overall, the key to the game for George Washington was man-up opportunities as the Colonials converted on seven-of-14 extra-man chances, including a three-for-three performance on five-meter penalty shots, as GW made NDC pay repeatedly for their miscues.
Jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the first period, George Washington never trailed and ran out to a 13-3 lead by halftime before outscoring the Falcons 7-6 in the second half to claim an 11-goal victory.
Overall, nine different Colonials scored in the contest as Katherine Berry (So., Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) and Rachael Bentley (So., Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) tacked four and three goals, respectively, to join Walker in notching hat-tricks.
Allison Littlejohn (So., Saline, Mich./Saline) chipped in a pair of goals, while Mikaela Pyrch (Fr., Denton, Texas/Ryan), Megan Brolley (So., Delray Beach, Fla./Saint Andrew's School), Monica Hanson (Sr., Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd/UC San Diego), Erin Dickson (So., Houston, Texas/Langham Creek) each added single markers as the Colonials set a new 2012 season high for offensive. GW's previous high in goals this season came against the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) during a 19-7 victory in Riverside, Calif.
Charlotte Vilander (Fr., Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) claimed the win for GW between the pipes with seven saves.
For Notre Dame, Gina-Bella Mata'afa (Fr., Maui, Hawaii/Lahinaluna) led the way with four strikes to join single-goal scorers Demi Barrett (Fr., Fallbrook, Calif./Fallbrook Union), Lucinda Darvell (So., Freeland, Pa./Hazleton), Michelle Berrios (Jr., Sacramento, Calif./Sierra College), Kanoe Lyons (Fr., Hilo, Hawaii/Kamehameha) and Elena Williams (Fr., Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs) in comprising the Falcons' offensvie output.
Goalie Victoria Cliff (Sr., Reno, Nev./Sierra College) suffered the loss for the Falcons with one save.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | -- | Final |
| Notre Dame College | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -- | 9 |
| George Washington University | 5 | 8 | 1 | 6 | -- | 20 |
GW Goals: Megan Walker (6); Katherine Berry (4); Rachael Bentley (3); Allison Littlejohn (2); Mikaela Pyrch; Megan Moreland; Megan Brolley; Monica Hanson; Erin Dickson
Notre Dame Goals: Gina-Bella Mata'afa (4); Demi Barrett; Lucinda Darvell; Kanoe Lyons; Michelle Berrios; Elena Williams
Saves: GW - Charlotte Vilander (7) ; Notre Dame - Victoria Cliff (1)
Exclusions: GW - 6 ; Notre Dame - 14
Advantage Opportunities: GW - 7-for-14 ; Notre Dame - 1-for-6
Sprints: GW - 3-for-4 (First, Second, Fourth) ; Notre Dame - 1-for-4 (Third)
Cards: None
Officials: Perry Korbaks, Humberto Navarro
Notre Dame College's Gina-Bella Mata’afa defends against George Washington University's Katherine Berry
