Women's water polo won three games April 21-22 to capture the Midwest Division Championship at Rolfs Aquatic Center in South Bend, Indiana. In doing so, the Lady Lions qualified for the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) National Collegiate Club Championship in two weeks.
After winning two games in conference pool competition, Lindenwood defeated Notre Dame 15-13 in the finals to advance for the first time since 2014 when the team won the Great Plains Division Championship.
The Fighting Irish took an early 3-1 lead, but the Lady Lions came back by the end of the first quarter. Isabella Boccia drew three, five-meter penalties, and Hanna Muller made all three of the ensuing shots. Kayla Hamilton and Madelynn Klein-Courville each added natural goals to give Lindenwood a 5-4 advantage.
Muller converted another five-meter penalty shot and captain Abby VerMeer added a natural goal while the defense only yielded one marker in the second quarter. Lindenwood held a 7-5 lead at the break.
Notre Dame fought to establish dominance in the third quarter and managed to score four goals with the effort, but the Lady Lions were equal to the task. Muller drew a five-meter penalty shot and Boccia powered it against the Fighting Irish goalkeeper. Notre Dame then drew a penalty shot, but Harmony Moran made a fantastic block to deny a goal. Senior captain Dani Rust drew another penalty and Muller capitalized with her fourth goal of the day. Boccia added two natural goals to help Lindenwood maintain a two-goal lead at 11-9 heading to the final quarter.
The Fighting Irish were awarded three quick ejection fouls early in the fourth, fouling out starting 2M defender Naomi Sanders. Notre Dame used the advantage to score a goal, but Boccia forced another Notre Dame penalty and Muller converted it. Dani Rust added a score to give Lindenwood a two-goal lead again, but the Fighting Irish countered to tie things at 13 with just 2:32 remaining in regulation. With momentum clearly in the Notre Dame corner, Head Coach Dave Miller called a timeout. The break allowed the Lady Lions to regroup and return to their game plan of strong defense and blistering counter-attacks. Two quick Lindenwood goals followed for a 15-13 advantage with 1:30 remaining. The Fighting Irish drew a couple of ejections, but could not find the back of the cage and the clock ran out for a Lady Lions victory.
Lindenwood was dominant in pool play on Saturday. In the first match of the day, the Lady Lions stopped Washington University 22-2. Nine different players scored for Lindenwood in a balanced attack, led by Muller and Klein-Courville with five goals each. Naomi Sanders added three markers and Boccia, Quincy Winship, and Rust scored two each. Noelle Redman, Marina Vela Genesca, and Emily Kini added single tallies. Sanders and Muller lead the defense with six steals, followed by Winship and Kini with three each. Nicole Howe, Boccia, Redman, Kayla Hamilton, and Heather Rosson also earned at least one steal. Moran and Betsy Zanocco shared goaltending duties as the Lindenwood built a 5-2 advantage after one quarter, a 10-2 lead by halftime, and a 13-2 advantage after three quarters.
In the second contest of the day on Saturday, the Lady Lions defeated Illinois State 20-1. Lindenwood once again displayed a balanced attack with 11 different players scoring in the game. Boccia led the offense with six goals, followed by Muller with three. Klein-Courville and Kini each added two, and Sanders, Rust, Redman, Zanocco, Hamilton, Sydney Walsh, and Vladislava Milutinovic each had single tallies. Muller and Klein-Courville earned three assists each. Boccia led the defense with four steals, followed by Muller with three. Sanders and Hamilton each had two and six players contributed with one steal each. Once again, Zanocco and Moran shared goaltending duties, each having four saves.
With the three wins, the Lady Lions improved to 15-6 overall for the season. They will pursue a national title at the CWPA Women's Collegiate Club Championship May 4-6 in Gresham, Oregon.
