No. 25 Bucknell Women's Water Polo Falls in Two CWPA Games on Saturday

Saturday, March 5

Ann Arbor, Mich.

10 a.m.

Bucknell University

Saint Francis (Pa.)

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

No. 25 Bucknell Women's Water Polo Falls in Two CWPA Games on Saturday

3/5/2022 7:07:00 PM | Women's Water Polo

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 25 Bucknell University women's water polo team dropped two CWPA games to open the Michigan Invite on Saturday afternoon. Bucknell dropped an 11-8 decision to the Red Flash of Saint Francis (Pa.) in the first game of the day, before falling 14-4 to the seventh-ranked Michigan Wolverines later in the afternoon.

Game One: Saint Francis (Pa.) 11, Bucknell 8

A close game throughout, the Bison outshot the Red Flash 31-19, but the Red Flash outscored the Bison 3-1 in the second in a key stretch of the game to take an 11-8 win over the Bison in the first game.

Paige Furano scored the opening goal at the 7:28 mark of the first period, but two goals by the Red Flash helped SFU retake the lead. Senior Larissa Hodzic tied the game at two with her goal with 36 seconds left in the first quarter to help keep things even after eight minutes.

Boati Motau scored the opening goal of the second, but three unanswered goals by the Red Flash gave Saint Francis a two-goal cushion, 5-3, at the halftime break.

Bucknell kept things close in the third, tying the game at six after Isabelle Monaghan scored on a five-meter attempt with 5:29 left in the period. However, that was the closest the Bison would get for the remainder of the game, as the Red Flash scored three of the next four goals to lead 9-7 at the start of the fourth.

Hodzic scored to open the fourth to pull within one, 9-8, but the Red Flash found two more goals, shutting out the Bison for the remainder of the game to take an 11-8 victory.

Hodzic netted a hat trick for a new career-high in goals, while Bella Moynihan, Motau, and Monaghan each added a goal. Paige Furano chipped in two goals and two steals in the defeat.

Goals: L.Hodzic (3), P.Furano (2), B.Motau, B.Moynihan, I.Monaghan
Assists: Furano (2), LaCroix
Steals: Moynihan, LaCroix, Monaghan
Ejections Drawn: Monaghan
Saves: Lampen 3 saves, 32:00 minutes

Game Two: Michigan 14, Bucknell 4

The Bison kept things close in the early goings against the seventh-ranked Wolverines, trailing just 4-2 at the 7:16 mark of the second quarter thanks to goals from Monaghan and Moynihan.

However, the Wolverines added four more goals in the second to Bucknell's one, limiting the Bison to just one goal in the second half of play en route to a 14-4 victory.

Paige Furano scored Bucknell's other goals of the game, one in each half, as the Bison fell to 6-7 on the season. Annika Lampen made four saves in the defeat. The Bison outshot the Wolverines, 29-28, but went 0-6 on powerplay opportunities.

The Bison return to action Sunday afternoon against Iona and Salem to conclude the Michigan Invite.

Goals: Furano (2), Moynihan, Monaghan