ERIE, Pa. – For the second year in a row, the Macalester College water polo team has won the CWPA Division III Tournament, hosted by Penn State-Behrend at the David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center. On Sunday, the Scots (14-4) defeated Connecticut College in overtime, 13-12 to finish the 2018 season as the regular-season and tournament champions.

Macalester surrendered the first three goals of the match and trailed 4-1 late in the first quarter. But the defending champions rallied with five consecutive goals, including two from sophomore Cara Mullery (Palmetto Bay, Fla./MAST Academy), to take a 6-4 lead with 1:23 remaining in the second quarter. After the Camels ended the run with a goal at the 23-second mark, sophomore Oriana Galasso (Gresham, Ore./Central Catholic) notched her first goal of the game with two seconds on the clock to make the score 7-5.

Early in the third quarter, Galasso found the net twice around a Connecticut College goal to give the Scots a 9-6 advantage. But the Camels responded with three straight goals to tie the score at 9-9 at the end of the third quarter. Senior Brooke Finney (Grand Rapids, Mich./Jenison) scored the first goal of the fourth quarter to briefly regain the lead, but Connecticut College answered 32 seconds later to tie the score at 10-10. On the next possession, Galasso scored again to put Macalester on top, 11-10 with 3:37 to play. With time winding down, the Camels were able to get the tying goal with 28 second left to send the game to overtime.

In the first of two overtime periods, the teams exchanged goals, with junior Lucille Moran (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) scoring first before Connecticut College tied it up. As the first overtime period was expiring, Galasso beat the buzzer with her fifth goal of the game to give the Scots a 13-12 edge. Neither team scored in the final period, as Macalester closed out the game to win its second straight CWPA Division III title.

In addition to Galasso's five goals, Moran, Mullery, Finney and senior Hannah Gray (Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) each scored twice. Junior goalkeeper Courtney Overland (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani) turned in another outstanding performance, making 15 saves in a close game. Moran was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after totaling 10 goals in the three games this weekend. Overland and Galasso joined Moran on the All-Tournament first team, while Mullery was included on the second team.

After winning a program-best 17 games last season, Macalester, coached by Scott Reed, set a program record for fewest losses (four) this season. The Scots went 7-0 during the regular-season conference schedule and did not lose to any team outside of California this year.

MAC – 3 4 2 2 2 0 - 13
ConnC – 4 1 4 2 1 0 - 12
Macalester goals: Galasso 5, Moran 2, Mullery 2, Finney 2, Gray 2

CWPA Division III Championships
David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center, Penn State-Behrend (host)
*All times Central
Saturday, April 14
Game 1: #1 Macalester 15, #8 Utica 3
Game 2: #4 Carthage 17, #5 Grove City 2
Game 3: #7 Washington & Jefferson 8, #2 Monmouth College 6
Game 4: #3 Connecticut College 10, #6 Penn State-Behrend 5
Game 5: #5 Grove City 11, #8 Utica 6
Game 6: #6 Penn State-Behrend 9, #2 Monmouth College 8
Game 7: #1 Macalester 13, #4 Carthage 5
Game 8: #3 Connecticut College 7, #7 Washington & Jefferson 3

Sunday, April 15
Game 9: #2 Monmouth College 15, #8 Utica 3 (Seventh-place)
Game 10: #6 Penn State-Behrend 10, #5 Grove City 5 (Fifth-place)
Game 11: #4 Carthage 11, #7 Washington & Jefferson 6 (Third-place)
Game 12: #1 Macalester 13, #3 Connecticut College 12, OT (Championship)