Bucknell University
Mercyhurst
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Advances to Fifth-Place Game at Eastern Championship with 14-8 Win Over Mercyhurst
4/26/2008 8:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
April 26, 2008
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Aubrey Rowe (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Kandis Canonica (Burlingame, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) led nine Bison goal scorers with three goals apiece as the fifth-seeded Bucknell women's water polo team defeated Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon at the Eastern Championship. The Bison will advance to Sunday's fifth-place game and will face No. 20 Brown at 1:30 p.m.
By virtue of its win Saturday, Bucknell (26-9) has guaranteed a top-six finish in the eight-team field. The only other time the Bison have placed in the top six of the Eastern Championship was 2006 when they took fourth. The top-six finish also guarantees a berth in next year's Elite Six Tournament, which the Bison will compete in rather than the ECAC Championship.
Canonica, Bucknell's single-season leader with 112 points this year, led all Bison with six points on three goals and three assists. Rowe added one assist to her three tallies, giving her four points on the day. Meagan Gins (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley) went over the 100-point mark for the second time in her career with a goal and an assist.
Overall, Bucknell had 10 assists on its 14 goals, with Haley Prickett (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) and Meghan McNally (Floral Park, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) registering two apiece to join Canonica with more than one helper.
Goalies Alison Carter (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) and Rachel McGillis (Los Altos, Calif./Los Altos) split time in cage. Carter stopped six shots and yielded four goals, while McGillis had five saves and gave up four goals as well.
Bucknell's freshman class of Kristin Vallis (Ridgefield, Conn./Phillips Exeter Academy), McNally, Canonica, Prickett, Whitney Allen (Hillsborough, Calif./Menlo) and Flavia McBride (Irvine, Calif./University) combined for seven goals, seven assists and 10 of the Bison's 17 steals.
The meeting between Mercyhurst (14-8) and Bucknell was the first-ever in the series.
Bucknell will go for a fifth-place finish at the Eastern Championships Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against Brown. The Bison lost a heartbreaking one-goal decision to the Bears earlier this month and are 3-7 all-time against them. Seeded seventh, Brown defeated No. 17 Indiana Saturday to advance to the fifth-place game.
MERCYHURST 3 1 1 3 -8
BUCKNELL 4 4 3 3 -14
Goals: Canonica (3), Rowe (3), Vallis (2), Palencia, Gins, Swoyer, Rozas, Prickett, McBride.
Assists: Canonica (3), McNally (2), Prickett (2), Gins, Rozas, Rowe.
Ejections Drawn: Allen (3), Vallis (2), Rowe (2), Gins, Swoyer, Rozas, Canonica, Prickett.
Saves: Carter (6 svs., 4 ga., 16:00 min.), McGillis (5 svs., 4 ga., 16:00 min.).
Steals: Prickett (3), Palencia (2), Allen (2), McBride (2), McGillis (2), Swoyer, Vallis, McNally, Rozas, Canonica, Carter.
Sprints: Rowe (1-1), Canonica (0-1), Allen (0-1), Palencia (0-1).
Bucknell Record: 26-9
