ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College water polo team split two CWPA matches as a part of the CWPA Round Robin 1, which concluded Sunday at Riley Pool. Macalester edged Austin College, 12-11 in the morning before losing to defending CWPA champion Augustana College, 14-4. The Scots are now 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the CWPA.

In the morning match against Austin (2-10, 2-2 CWPA), the teams exchanged goals in the first quarter, with first year Pooja Bucklin (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) scoring 19 seconds before the end of the period. The Scots broke through in the second quarter, outscoring the Kangaroos 5-1 to take a 6-2 advantage. Bucklin scored twice, with junior Kendall Coney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek), sophomore Jess Palmer-Sammons (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) and sophomore Lorelei Bell (Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) also scoring in the quarter. Sophomore Alana Nadolski (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) opened the scoring in the second half, only to have Austin tally the next three goals to make the score 7-5 Macalester. Bucklin closed out the third quarter with her fourth goal of the match for an 8-5 lead.

After surrendering a goal early in the fourth quarter, the Scots received two goals from Coney to push lead back up to four, 10-6. Coney answered an Austin goal, then Nadolski found the net after another Kangaroos' tally for a 12-8 lead with 4:22 remaining. Austin scored three goals down the stretch, the last coming with seven seconds left, but it was not enough to prevent Macalester from winning the match, 12-11. The victory ended a six-match losing streak to the Kangaroos, who have been the CWPA runner-up the past two season. Senior goalkeeper Laurel O'Hare (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) registered 13 saves in the one-goal win.

In the Scots' final match of the weekend, Augustana (12-3, 4-0 CWPA) took control early and never looked back. The Vikings tallied eight straight goals before first year Hannah Fasi (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School) scored Macalester's first goal of the match with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter. Coney found the net just before the end of the third quarter, while Nadolski and Bucklin scored in the fourth quarter for the Scots. Augustana's Casey Barragan totaled 11 goals, including six in the fourth quarter, to lead the Vikings to a 14-4 win. Sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Kratt (Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) made six saves in goal for Macalester.

The Scots continue CWPA play with four matches April 6-7 at Penn State Behrend. Macalester will face Grove City and Wheaton (Ill.) on April 6 and PSU Behrend and Connecticut College on Apr. 7.

Click here for the Tournament Website.

MAC – 1 5 2 4 - 12
AC – 1 1 3 6 - 11
Macalester goals: Bucklin 4, Coney 4, Nadolski 2, Palmer-Sammons, Bell  

MAC – 0 0 2 2 - 4
Aug – 2 3 3 6 - 14
Macalester goals: Fasi, Coney, Nadolski, Bucklin