The Gannon University women’s water polo team hosted the Western Water Polo Association Championship Tournament at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, over the weekend and the Knights wound up taking fourth place by winning one of three games.
The Knights came into the tournament as the No. 4 seed and topped the fifth-seeded Sonoma State Seawolves Friday, 9-5, in their first game of the tournament.
Julia Kredinger put Gannon on the board first with five and a half minutes left in the first period, but Sonoma State scored back-to-back goals to end the quarter with a 2-1 lead.
After a close opening quarter, Gannon kept Sonoma State in check the rest of the games giving up only three more goals.
The Knights outscored the Seawolves 2-0 in the second quarter with goals from Kredinger and Kelly Fehr, and Gannon enjoyed a 3-2 lead at halftime.
The Knights’ offense came alive in the second half, putting up six of their nine goals.
Kredinger finished with a game-high three goals and an assist. Nicole Wiemken, Fehr and Campbell Ruh each had two goals. Goalie Isabelle Vieira allowed five goals and blocked another five. The win enabled the Knights to move on to play top-seeded UC San Diego Saturday in the semifinals, where they dropped a 20-5 decision.
The Tritons jumped to a quick start with two goals, but Gannon was quick to respond with goals from Fehr and Kelly Fountain later in the first quarter.
But Taylor Onstott broke the tie before the first quarter ended to put San Diego up 3-2.
The Tritons separated themselves in the second quarter by outscoring the Knights 7-2, getting two goals each from Grace Pevehouse and Chanel Schilling.
The Tritons led 10-4 at halftime and kept the pressure in the second half to win by a healthy margin. For San Diego, Pevehouse finished with four goals and Onstott collected three goals.
Fehr led the Knights with her three goals while Ruh and Fountain each added one.
In Sunday’s battle for third place, Gannon dropped a 12-9 contest to the third-seeded Cal State East Bay Pioneers.
The Knights got off to a hot start, leading 4-2 after the opening period of play. Ruh, Fehr, Wiemken and Kredinger each scored once in the opening quarter and after Cal State East Bay answered with two goals, Fehr added her second to make it 5-2 in the second quarter.
However, the Pioneers rallied for three straight goals to tie the score and after Fountain untied it for Gannon, Cal State East Bay closed the first half with two straight goals to take a 7-6 halftime lead.
Ruh and Fountain each scored once in the third quarter for Gannon, and the two teams remained tied at 9-9 going into the final quarter.
The Pioneers took control down the stretch, scoring the next three goals before Fehr could answer for the Knights.
Gannon finished the season 8-16 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
samuel dietrich
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