NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Macalester College water polo team beat Wittenberg University 17-6 in their first game of the CWPA Championships. The Scots will now play Monmouth College in the next round of the tournament tomorrow and a chance to advance to the final.

Senior Natalie Hoffman (Seattle, Wash./Inglemoor) started the Scots off with a goal in the first quarter. Then senior Lucille Moran (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) followed with another goal just two minutes later. To take a 5-2 lead, first year Annika Krueger (Emerald Hills, Calif./Sequoia), junior Oriana Galasso (Gresham, Ore./Central Catholic) and junior Naomi Strait (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) all tallied a goal each.

In to the second quarter, the Scots outscored Wittenberg 4-2. Krueger tallied two goals during the quarter as well as one by Hoffman and sophomore Adeline Steward-Nolan (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park And River Forest).

With the score 9-5, Macalester shut out Wittenberg in the third while scoring five more goals. Sophomore Cara Mullery (Palmetto Bay, Fla./MAST Academy) started the quarter off for the Scots with a goal. It took Moran just under a minute to find the back of the net and tally her second goal of the game. Hoffman and Steward-Nolan scored two quick goals with five minutes left in the period. And with ten seconds left Steward-Nolan made the score 14-5 with another goal.

At 7:16 in the fourth quarter, Steward-Nolan scored her third goal of the game. Krueger tallied another goal less than a minute later. Wittenberg scored their final just before the Scots finished the game off with a goal by Steward-Nolan. Macalester won 17-6 and was led by Krueger and Steward-Nolan in scoring, each tallying four goals.

Wittenberg University – 2 3 0 1 - 6
Macalester – 5 4 5 3 - 17
Macalester goals: Krueger 4, Steward-Nolan 4, Hoffman 3, Moran 2, Galasso 1, Mullery 1, Strait 1, Waters 1

Macalester face Monmouth College in the semifinals of the CWPA Championship Tournament from Saturday, April 13, in New London, Conn.