Losing streak comes to an end with win over Wheaton

ORANGE, Calif. – After dropping its first game 17-8 to Occidental College, the Chapman University women’s water polo team rebounded with a 15-10 win over Wheaton College in the nightcap of the Chapman University Water Polo Tournament on Friday at the Allred Aquatics Center. The win over Wheaton ended Chapman’s three-game losing streak.

Game 1: Occidental 17, Chapman University 8
Occidental (3-9) got off to a quick 2-0 start in the first few minutes of play. With 4:23 remaining in the first quarter, sophomore driver Briana O’Keefe scored the Panthers’ first goal. Following three straight Occidental goals, Chapman 2M sophomore Stephanie Roy scored with 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter, narrowing the score to 5-3. Roy led the Panthers with two goals.

Occidental pulled away in the second quarter, scoring five goals, including two from junior Karie Nickle who finished with a game-high five goals. Chapman (2-5) scored a pair of goals in the quarter, but could not trim the lead, as Occidental led 10-5 at halftime.

The Tigers began the second half with two quick goals, pushing their lead to 12-5. Chapman’s offense managed just three second half goals as Occidental led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter. Chapman sophomore driver Fernanda Gallo Moreno scored the final goal with a minute left in the fourth quarter to conclude the game 17-8.

Score by Quarters                     1          2          3          4          Final
Occidental (3-9)                         5          5          5          2          17
Chapman University (2-5)           3          2          2          1          8

Occidental Goals: Nickle (5), Monday (4), Fujiyama (3), Casey (2), Hofer (2), Garci
CU Goals: Roy (2), Lee, Margania, McLaughlin, Moreno, O’Keefe, Worthington

Game 2: Chapman University 15, Wheaton College 10
With a 7-7 halftime score, Chapman scored five-consecutive times in the third quarter to take command as five different players scored during the run. Wheaton answered with back-to-back goals from junior driver Emma Higgins and freshman driver Kathryn Sheehy to make the score 12-9. Chapman then tacked on two goals to end the threat of a Thunder rally. Sheehy had a team-high five goals.

Excellent play from freshman goalie Alicia Wei who was making her first-career start along with a season-high six goals from sophomore 2M Arielle Worthington gave Chapman the edge it needed to get back in the win column. Worthington has enjoyed playing against Wheaton in her career, scoring a career-high seven against them last season while Wei had a career-high 14 blocks for Chapman.

Score by Quarters                     1          2          3          4          Final
Wheaton College (5-5)               1          6          1          2          10
Chapman University (3-5)           2          5          5          3          15

WC Goals: Sheehy (5), Higgins (3), Crockett, McGee
CU Goals: Worthington (6), Martin (3), Marganian (2), McLaughlin (2), Moreno, Roy

By Lindsay Jones & Chris Watts
Sports Information Intern & Sports Information Assistant

Boxscores:
Game 1: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wwaterpolo/2009-10/stats/oxy-cu.pdf
Game 2: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wwaterpolo/2009-10/stats/whe-cu.pdf