SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Austin College women's water polo team found themselves taking on four NCAA Division I opponents at the Aztec Invitational this past weekend, including multiple programs ranked nationally, putting up strong fights against all four before ultimately coming up short.
The 'Roos, ranked No. 5 in the latest Division III poll, took on St. Francis (Pa.) and Division I No. 14-ranked Wagner on Saturday, before squaring off against Division I No. 20-ranked San Diego State and Bucknell on Sunday. The 'Roos fell by scores of 13-7 against both St. Francis and Wagner, before dropping an 11-4 game to San Diego State and being edged 9-8 by Bucknell.
The 'Roos trailed just 5-3 at halftime against St. Francis, but the Red Flash outscored Austin College 5-1 in the third to put the game out of reach. Sophie Oliver, Lauren Olivier, and Brooke Le each tallied twice for Austin College, while Valery Piachonkina made eight saves in the net for the 'Roos.
Against Wagner, the 'Roos found themselves trailing 13-1 heading into the fourth quarter before staging a furious rally attempt, putting six straight goals in the net in the fourth to cut it to a 13-7 game but that's as close as things would get. Oliver had three goals for Austin College, with Sammi Thiele adding two scores in the loss. Alyssa Ross and Madison Taylor also scored a goal apiece, and Erin McCormick made 11 saves in goal.
The 'Roos found themselves all square at two goals apiece after the first quarter against San Diego State, but the Aztecs took control from there, including outscoring the 'Roos 7-0 after halftime to hand Austin College the defeat. Oliver and Le both scored twice for the 'Roos, while Piachonkina had 11 saves in the loss.
Austin College wrapped up the weekend against Bucknell on Sunday afternoon, heading into halftime trailing just 4-3. The 'Roos would tie things up at five goals piece in the third and went into the fourth quarter trailing 8-6. Austin College was unable to mount a full comeback, coming up just short in the final seconds. Le had three goals for Austin College, and Oliver, Olivier, Shannon Berry, and Lexi Wong each scored once.