ERIE, Pa. – Gannon women's water polo played in two contests on Saturday, with the first coming against the Penn State Club Team before heading home to face Villanova for Senior Night at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion.
The Lady Knights opened the day with a 15-10 exhibition win over the Nittany Lions before dropping a narrow 11-10 decision to the Wildcats to end the day. Senior goalie
Isabelle Vieira (Erie, Pa./Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy) was recognized prior to the start of the second matchup, which served as the lone contest of the 2019 campaign for the Lady Knights.
Stats for the Lady Knights first game of the day do not count toward individual players or the team's overall record. Below is a full breakdown of each game:
THE RUNDOWN: GAME ONE (Exhibition)
- Final Score: Gannon 15, Penn State (Club Team) 10
- Location: Junker Center Pool – Erie, Pa. (Penn State Behrend Tournament)
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Gannon outscored PSU in three of the first four quarters and Campbell Ruh (Walnut, Calif./Lutheran High School of Orange County) launched home three goals in the third frame to help Gannon surge ahead for good.
- Despite falling behind 1-0, the Lady Knights ended the first quarter with five of the next seven goals. Nicole Wiemken (Napoleon, Ohio /Napoleon), Julia Kredinger (Erie, Pa./Villia Maria), Ruh and Amanda Puthoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) all found the back of the net in the opening frame as Gannon built a 5-3 lead.
- The Lady Knights added three more goals in the second, powered by tallies from Kredinger, Maggie Fortin (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Ruh to lift GU to an 8-5 edge at the half. The lady Knights came out as the aggressor in the third, picking up the first four goals of the period to jump ahead 12-5.
- GU was able to maintain the advantage with some stout defense and saves from Vieira. Fortin buried a shot with 2:09 remaining in the contest that pushed the Maroon and Gold ahead 15-9 and PSU added one more goal for the 15-10 final.
THE RUNDOWN: GAME TWO
- Final Score: Villanova 11, Gannon 10
- Records: Gannon (5-14) | Villanova (11-13)
- Location: Carneval Athletic Pavilion – Erie, Pa. (Senior Night)
- The Short Story: Once again Villanova was able to squeeze out a one-goal victory over the Lady Knights, who raced ahead to a 4-2 lead after the first quarter in their lone home game of the 2019 season.
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Following some timely saves in goal from Vieira that dotted much of the first half, Kelly Fehr (Erie, Pa./Villia Maria) began her big day with an equalizer at the 5:39 mark of the first period. It was the first of three straight goals for the Lady Knights, with Fehr finding the back of the cage at 2:38 and Kredinger pushing GU ahead 3-1 at 1:17.
- The Wildcats stormed back, eventually tying the game at four and using persistent pressure to take a 5-4 edge at 3:45 in the second. Gannon responded, as Ruh rifled one into the net to tie the contest up at five before Fehr pushed the Lady Knights in front heading into intermission.
- The second half was tightly contested on the defensive end, with each team working hard for any kind of scoring chances. An exclusion goal by Ruh swung momentum back in favor of the Lady Knights for a 7-6 lead and Fehr followed suit with an exclusion tally at 3:28 for an 8-7 advantage.
- The pressure and intensity mounted in the fourth with Fehr converting the equalizer just 19 seconds after a Villanova goal. The Wildcats notched the game-winning tally at 5:33 and added an insurance marker at 1:54.
- With one final surge, Gannon trimmed its deficit to one with an exclusion marker by Ruh at 1:21, but the Wildcats played keep away just long enough to escape with the win.
GAME NOTES
- Vieira is the lone senior on the Lady Knights squad this season and is one of several family members to have attended Gannon. She entered the day fourth all-time in program history with 387 saves.
- Saturday was Gannon's first action since the SFU Open on March 16.
- Fehr was the WWPA Player of the Week for her efforts the last time the Lady Knights competed, and she continued her strong offensive play with six goals this evening.
UP NEXT
- Gannon finishes off the weekend tomorrow morning with a conference matchup against McKendree in the Penn State Behrend Tournament.
- The Lady Knights will take to the pool at 12:00 PM at the Prep-Villa Events Center in Erie.
