THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The first of two straight days of mini-tournaments at the Samuelson Aquatics Center saw the Cal Lutheran women's water polo team split and earn a 12-8 victory over Connecticut College in the evening after dropping a close 13-9 decision to Division I George Washington in the afternoon.
Returning to the win column for the third time of the spring was another battle for the Regals as Jordan Card, Kaylee Kastrup, Tatiana McCuaig and Gina Merry made impressive play after play after play throughout the game. Overall, Card netted five goals, her second five-goal game of the season, and had two field blocks, Kastrup came up with four assists, two steals, a goal and a drawn ejection, McCuaig chipped in with three assists, two goals, two steals, a field block and a drawn ejection and Merry recorded 15 saves in the win.
Connecticut College scored quickly, but Cal Lutheran stormed back with three consecutive goals. Card converted a point blank goal and when Merry was excluded from the cage, the defense stepped up with a field block from Card to preserve the tie. She struck again and Amanda Jones got in on the scoring action and opened the lead to 3-1 with just under two minutes to play in the first frame. The Camels fought back to a 3-3 tally after the opening eight minutes.
Two minutes into the second period, Maggie Kurzeka put the Violet and Gold on top. The teams then exchanged goals for 4-4 and 5-5 ties. Back-to-back CLU goals from McCuaig aided the Regals in taking a 7-6 advantage into the intermission.
The first scoring play of the third came from Logan Young to get the crowd into things. Card tacked on another to add to the team total at the end of the frame to take a 9-6 advantage to the final frame after shutting out the Camels.
An exciting fourth saw CLU add three more by way of Card, Kastrup and Lauren Shackelford while the defense was able to limit CC to just a pair and clinch the win.
In the first game of the afternoon for Cal Lutheran, things were tight through three quarters, but a fourth that belonged to the Colonials was the difference maker in a 13-9 loss. Jones scored three times, Young dished out three assists with three steals, Card drew a trio of ejections and Merry notched seven saves.
Jones won CLU the opening sprint, but GW struck first in a six-on-five. McCuaig countered with an equalizing goal and a defensive stop from the Regals put the home team in a situation to take a lead. Shackelford converted on the ensuing possession and Cal Lutheran took an early 2-1 lead. As was the case moments before, the Colonials evened the first frame with 1:32 to play in the period. GW regained the upper hand and took that 3-2 lead into the second stanza.
Just 47 seconds into the second period Jones earned a five-meter shot and converted it with a goal to the lower left corner, knotting the teams again. In staying with the theme of the game, GW reciprocated on the next possession and pushed the gap to two at 5-3. Great ball movement throughout the shot clock ended with another Jones goal on an assist from Logan Young, which cut the deficit to one. She then teamed up with Card for another equalizer halfway through the quarter to complete a hat-trick all in the second period. Solid defense and another great save from Merry gave the ball back to the Violet and Gold. Kurzeka got in on the scoring and eventually the teams would go into the intermission tied up at 6-6.
After the break, Jones nipped the crossbar on a shot and Card punched the ball cross the plane of the cage after gathering the ricochet. GW responded and McCuaig promptly found the back of the net from six meters out. Cat-and-mouse play continued and the visiting Colonials scored back-to-back goals on a skip shot and a behind the back shot for a 9-8 lead late in the third.
Over the final eight minutes, GW controlled the pace, scoring a five-meter followed by a one-on-nobody and added two more for the largest lead of the game at 13-8. CLU got its lone goal of the fourth from Sam Wulfestieg on a tip in off a pass from McCuaig. She nearly notched another score on a similar play started by Bailey Likewise late in the period, but the result went final at 13-9.
Earlier today George Washington defeated Connecticut College 11-8 in a neutral site contest to wrap up its spring break trip.
Cal Lutheran (3-12) returns to action for two more games tomorrow. The first will pit the Regals in a rematch against Connecticut College (0-6) at 2:00 p.m. before CLU and St. Francis (N.Y.) (1-7) dive in at 5:30 p.m.
Box Scores: CLU 12, CC 8
Box Scores: GW 13, CLU 9
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