Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Mercyhurst
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Uses Strong Second Half to Defeat Mercyhurst 14-5
2/13/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 13, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - It is just two games into the 2010 season, but the Bucknell women's water polo team has already proved it is a second-half squad. Eighteen hours after outscoring Gannon 9-0 in the second half, the Bison won the second half against Mercyhurst 10-4 en route to a 14-5 victory over the Lakers Saturday at Kinney Natatorium.
Bucknell, which has opened a campaign 2-0 for the second time in the last three years, led just 5-3 less than two minutes into the second half before reeling off eight consecutive goals in a span of 8:38. Hallie Kennan (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) got the scoring string going with back-to-back goals less than 30 seconds apart, both from the same spot on the right wing. She paced the Bison with a career-high five goals in the contest, three of which came after halftime.
Kennan, Valentina Rozas (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) and Kandis Canonica (Burlingame, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) grew the Bison lead with four goals in a span of 2:33 in the third quarter, while newcomers Krystle Morgan (Rowland Heights, Calif./Rosary) and Shannon Carroll (Wilton, Conn./Loomis Chaffee) helped extend the advantage. Morgan tallied twice, once to end the third quarter and once to begin the fourth quarter, while Carroll added her first career goal midway through the fourth to make it 13-3, the largest advantage of the game for the Bison.
Early on it appeared as though Bucknell would cruise to the victory as it led 4-0 after the first period. Canonica led the offense early, having a hand in each of the first three goals with two six-on-five scores and an assist on a Tara Murao (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) goal.
The Bison defense held Mercyhurst (0-1) without a goal until Lisett Calderon converted a five-meter penalty shot with 15 seconds left in the first half to make it 4-1. At that point, Bucknell had not yielded a goal for 37:01 dating back to Friday night's contest against Gannon. Until two late scores after the Bison already had a 10-goal advantage, all three of the Lakers goals came in a two-minute span at the conclusion of the first half and the beginning of the second stanza.
The two Bucknell goalies - Alison Carter (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) and Brittany Connell (Montebello, Calif./Montebello) - were called upon to make just seven saves total after 19 stops on Friday thanks to strong defense in front of them. The Bison registered 16 steals with Rozas and Connell picking up three apiece. Connell played just the final 9:18 and also had three saves to go along with her three steals.
With her five goals, Kennan tied Canonica (3g, 2a) for the team lead in points.
Amanda Skonezney (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) did not score in the game, but won all four sprints for the second consecutive contest. She is now a perfect 8-for-8 on the year and has claimed 85 sprints in her career, placing her third on the Bison all-time list, just eight behind second-place Elizabeth Jensen.
With the win, Bucknell improved to 3-0 all-time against the Lakers.
The Bison will play their third game within 24 hours when they host Wagner at 5:45 p.m. Saturday evening at Kinney Natatorium. A total of 17 games will be played this weekend at Kinney Natatorium as part of the Bison Invitational.
MERCYHURST 0 1 2 2 -5
BUCKNELL 4 0 6 4 -14
Goals: Kennan (5), Canonica (3), Morgan (2), Murao, McNally, Rozas, Carroll.
Assists: Rozas (3), McNally (2), Canonica (2), White, Murao, Wagner, Carroll, Carter, Connell.
Field Blocks: None.
Ejections Drawn: Rozas (3), Carroll (2), Murao, Skonezney, Canonica, Kennan, Morgan.
Saves: Carter (4 svs., 3 ga., 22:42 min.), Connell (2 svs., 2 ga., 9:18 min.).
Steals: Rozas (3), Connell (3), White (2), Morgan (2), Carter (2), Murao, Shopiro, Kennan, Carroll.
Sprints: Skonezney (4-4).
Record: 2-0.
