LEWISBURG, PA - The#16 ranked Hartwick women's water polo team won both of their matches on Saturday afternoon at the Bison Invite hosted by Bucknell University. Hartwick won the first match 14-13 over Wagner and took the second match over Marist 13-9. The Hawks now improve their record to 7-3 and have won their last five games.
In the first game, Alysaa Analytis (Montreal, Quebec) and Kamila Zakirova (Almaty, Kazakhstan) both had three goals each to lead Wick. Sasha Freeborn (Auckland, New Zealand) and Lisa Bass (Montreal, Quebec) both scored twice. Shannon Leonard (Ponte Claire, Quebec), Sami Capparelli (Miami, FL), Lily Martinez (Commerce, CA), and Jemma Dendy Young (Cape Town, South Africa) all had one goal each.
Dendy Young got Hartwick on the board in the first quarter at 7:02. After the Seahawks would tie it up, the Hawks would score twice to go ahead 3-1 with 2:35 left in the first. Wagner would score to cut the lead to one, but Analytis's goal with 10 seconds left gave the Hawks the two-goal advantage.
Wagner started the second quarter with two straight scores to knot the game at 4-all. Both teams would exchange goal and after Analytis' third score of the day, the Hawks would be up 8-6 after two quarters of play.
In the third, it was still a one-goal Hartwick lead at 3:19 until goals by Capparelli, Martinez, and Zakirova gave the Hawks a 12-8 lead with 1:11 left in the quarter. The Seahawks would tack on one score with 18 seconds left.
In the final quarter of play, Bass found the back of the net for her second goal of the game and Hartwick held a 13-9 lead. Wagner would score three straight times to reduce the deficit to one goal with 2:08 left to play. Freeborn's second goal of the day at 1:38 would make it 14-12 and the Seahawks would score once with 41 seconds left to go within one goal of tying the game but that would be it as Hartwick held on for the one-goal victory.
In the second game, Leonard and Zakirova both had three goals to pace the Hawks. Bass and Freeborn had two scores each. Capparelli, Analytis and Dendy Young all had one score.
In the first quarter, the game was tied 2-2. Twice in the second quarter, the Hawks would have a one-goal lead and both times Marist would score to tie the game. Two straight Hawk scores would give them a two-goal lead before the Red Foxes would score with just one second left to make it a 6-5 Hartwick lead after two quarters of play.
Zakirova's second goal of the contest would put Hartwick up 7-5 at 7:31 of the third quarter. After the Red Foxes scored with 4:11 left in the third, two goals from Leonard and one from Zakirova would put the Hawks on top 12-7 heading into the final quarter of play.
Hartwick never surrendered its lead in the fourth. Marist scored twice early in the quarter to make it 12-9 Hawks but Bass would tack on her second goal of the game and Hartwick would come out with the 13-9 victory.
Hartwick will continue play tomorrow with two games. The Hawks will face Siena at 12:30 p.m. and then go against the host Bisons at 6:30 p.m.
