Lucinda Darvell

PROVIDENCE, RI  -- Gannon University climbed out of a 6-0 first period hole to rally back and take down Notre Dame College 11-10 in overtime for 11th place at the 2012 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Eastern Championship at Brown University's Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.

Down by six through a period of play, the Golden Knights (14-22) closed the first half with three consecutive scores as Emily Sullivan (So., Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) converted on a man-up chance at 7:02 before Kelsey Rzymek (So., Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Katelyn Jacobs (So., Brookfield, Ill./Lyons Township) connected on scoring shots at 5:24 and 1:04, respectivley, to move Gannon within 6-3 prior to halftime.

The comeback continued in the third period as Colleen Harriger (Sr., Erie, Pa./McDowell) pushed a ball across the goal mouth at 2:20 and cashed in on a man-up opportunity with 22 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 6-5 with a period of regulation to play.

Notre Dame (7-19) snapped a run of 18:47 in which the team was held scoreless from the first quarter as Gina Bella-Mata'afa (Fr., Maui, Hawaii/Lahinaluna) drilled a five-meter penalty shot, but the Golden Knights stormed back with successful man-up and five-meter shots by Player of the Game Molly Andrews (Sr., Tustin, Calif./Tustin) and Bailey Gadd (So., Golden, Colo./Lakewood) at 5:11 and 4:21, respectively, to knot the game up for the first time since the 7:43 mark of the first period.

The teams traded goals to the final horn of regulation as Olena Orlova (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine/Sierra College) scored for the Falcons with a natural goal at 3:58 before Andrews anwered with a man-up strike at 3:26 to make it eight-all.

Gannon took its first lead with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter as Andrews took advantage of another exclusion chance, but Notre Dame evened the damage at 1:21 when Michelle Berrios (Jr., Sacramento, Calif./Sierra College) tacked a scoring shot inside the near post for a nine-all tie.

In overtime, Gadd put the Golden Knights back in front with a goal at the 46 seconds mark of the first three-minute OT frame, but the Falcons found the mesh with a man-up goal with 1:23 left in the second OT to retie the game at 10-all.

Facing sudden death, Gannon elected to terminate the contest at 38 minutes of play (32 in regulation, six in overtime) as Harriger scored on an exclusion chance with 56 seconds left on the clock for the game-winner.

The game did not appear to be a contest early on as the Falcons found the cage six times in the opening frame to build an overwhelming 6-0 lead through the first eight minutes of action.

Kanoe Lyons (Fr., Hilo, Hawaii/Kamehameha) opened the scoring in the game by burying a feed just 17 seconds in to ignite a scoring spree.  Elena Williams (Fr., Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs) followed with a marker at 6:47 before Mata'afa racked up back-to-back good shots at 5:53 and 4:26 to build the spread out to 4-0.  Lyons (4:08) and Berrios (00:29) closed out the first period fireworks to stake NDC to a six goal lead.

Andrews and Harriger led the way for the Golden Knights with hat-tricks as six Gannon players contributed goals, while Mata'afa contributed three goals for the Falcons who had five players earn a spot on the scoresheet's offensive play-by-play.

Libbie Guina (Sr., Houston, Texas/Clear Brook) claimed the victory for Gannon with 10 saves.  Victoria Cliff (Sr., Reno, Nev./Sierra College) suffered the loss with 11 stops.

Overall, Gannon equals its best finish ever at the CWPA Eastern Championship for the second year in a row as the Golden Knights defeated then league member Villanova University 8-3 in 2003 to finish 11th and achieved the feat once again last year at the 2011 Eastern Championship.

Gannon Goals: Molly Andrews (3); Colleen Harriger (3); Bailey Gadd (2); Kelsey Rzymek; Katelyn Jacobs; Emily Sullivan

Notre Dame Goals: Gina Bella Mata'afa (3); Michelle Berrios (2); Kanoe Lyons (2); Olena Orlova (2); Elena Williams

Saves: Gannon - Libbie Guina (10) ; Notre Dame - Victoria Cliff (11)

Exclusions: Gannon - 10 ; Notre Dame - 13

Advantage Opportunities: Gannon - 6-for-13 ; Notre Dame - 2-for-10

Sprints: Gannon - 1-for-6 (Fourth) ; Notre Dame - 5-for-6 (First, Second, Third, OT1, OT2)

Cards: None

Officials: Josh Kratz, Humberto Navarro 

Notre Dame College's Victoria Cliff goes for a save