The Lions faced tough competition at the Tina Finali Women's Water Polo Invitational, hosted by California Lutheran University February 28-29 in Thousand Oaks, California. Lindenwood went 0-4 on the weekend, falling to the University of California – East Bay 15-5 and Sonoma State 15-3 on Friday, before dropping two more on Saturday, 8-6 to Chapman University and 10-6 to host Cal Lutheran.
The Lions struggled on the first day of the tournament, but were led by
Paige Miller, who totaled three goals, four assists, four steals, and one field block in the two games.
Naomi Sanders and
Kayla Hamilton each scored twice, and
Betsy Zanocco totaled nine saves in goal and added two steals. Miller earned Lindenwood Player-of-the-Game recognition against CSU – East Bay with a pair of goals and assists while Sanders earned Player-of-the-Game recognition against Sonoma State with a goal, three steals, and three exclusions drawn. The Lions were able to score three times out of 11 man-up chances.
Lindenwood played better on Saturday, but still came up short in both contests. Against the Panthers, the Lions fell behind 2-1 after the first quarter, but still only trailed by a single goal 3-2 at halftime. Chapman opened up a three-goal margin in the third quarter and held off Lindenwood down the stretch.
Miller and Sanders again led the offense, each scoring two goals in the game. Miller added two assists and two steals while Sanders had a steal and exclusion drawn.
Isabella Boccia and Hamilton each scored once, and
Nicole Howe had an assist, steal, and exclusion drawn. Zanocco make 13 saves and had three steals to earn Lions Player-of-the-Game honors.
Against the host Regals, Lindenwood once again stayed in the contest through the first half, only trailing by a goal 4-3, but Cal Lutheran pulled away in the final two quarters. Boccia led the offense with two markers, and four other players each scored once including
Sydney Walsh, Sanders, Hamilton, and Howe. Miller added an assist, two steals, and an exclusion drawn to help the Lions cause and Sanders also had two assists, four steals, and two exclusions drawn to earn Player-of-the-Game recognition. Zanocco made five saves and had two steals in goal.
Lindenwood dropped to 5-5 on the season after the weekend. The Lions return to the pool for the second of two conference crossover weekends in the Midwest Division March 21-22. Lindenwood is scheduled to Grand Valley, the University of Notre Dame, and Washington University with all games played at the St. Peters Rec-Plex in St. Peters, Missouri.
