Women's water polo went 1-3 at the UC – Davis Invitational January 26-27 in Davis, California.
The Lions faced the host and defending national champion Aggies in their first game of the weekend and fell 7-4. Lindenwood played strong defense, but the offense only managed a 21 percent shooting percentage.
Hanna Muller paced the Lions with three goals while
Madelynn Klein-Courville had a single marker, and
Isabella Boccia helped with one assist. On defense, Muller led the Team with three steals,
Paige Miller had two, and
Naomi Sanders,
Betsy Zanocco,
Abby VerMeer, and
Harmony Moran each had one. Zanocco made six saves in goal during the first half and Moran had four saves in the second half.
Lindenwood faced arguably the best opponent of the past two years in the Oakland Masters Club the next game, and were defeated 13-1. Muller scored the only goal of the game with
Nicole Howe assisting for the Lions, who were held to eight percent shooting. Despite the large loss, the defense still had 14 steals, led by Sanders, Muller, and VerMeer who each had three. Howe had two and Moran, Boccia, and Miller each had one. Zanocco made six saves including one on a five-meter penalty shot, and Moran had two saves.
In the first game on Sunday, Lindenwood was able to get into the win column with a 14-7 victory over California. The Lions controlled the game from start to finish with both Boccia and Sanders each netting four shots. Klein-Courville and Muller added two markers each, with Zanocco and
Emily Kini each scoring once. Miller, VerMeer, and
Kayla Hamilton had two helpers a piece, while Zanocco, Klein-Courville,
Noelle Redman, Sanders, Muller, Howe, and freshman Olivia Coplin each had a single assist. Defensively, Sanders and Zanocco each had three steals, with Redman, Muller, Kini, and VerMeer getting two each.
Sydney Walsh and Hamilton had one.
In the final contest of the weekend, Lindenwood watched a first half lead get away in an 8-6 loss against No. 2 ranked Cal Poly. The Lions played great defense, but had trouble shooting again at only 21 percent. Miller and VerMeer each scored twice, with single markers coming from Boccia and Klein-Courville. Muller had two assists with Kini and VerMeer each helping once. On defense, Muller had four steals, VerMeer three, and Moran, Miller, and Sanders one each. Zanocco stopped six shots in goal while Moran made four saves in split duties.
Lindenwood falls to 2-6 overall on the season. The Lions return to the pool for the Illinois Water Polo Invitational February 9-10 at Fenwick High School in Chicago.
