Harvard Invitational

Cambridge, MA – The No. 19-ranked Wagner women's water polo team picked up where they left off two weekends ago in Poughkeepsie, NY, recording three victories, extending their current winning streak to five games. In total, they would tally 51 goals in three games, while only allowing their opponents to find the back of the cage 17 times. They began the Harvard Invitational on Saturday morning, defeating the Connecticut College Camels 23-5, followed by a 13-7 victory over the No. 25 Cal-State East Bay Pioneers. On Sunday, the Green & White wrapped up their weekend by defeating the No. 22 Bucknell Bison by the score of 15-5.
 
No. 19 Wagner 23, Connecticut College 5: Game Sheet
The Seahawk offense erupted for a season-high 23 goals against Connecticut College, en route to a 23-5 victory to begin the Harvard Invitational.
 
In the first period, the Camels' attack stayed on pace with the Green & White's for the first four minutes, but a five-goal run by the Seahawks created the insurance they needed to hold on to a victory. 
 
Seven different Seahawks would score in the first eight minutes, including two goals apeice from Sofia Diaz Alvarez and Abbey Simshauser, as well as a single goal from Valeria Rojas, Jacqui Sjogren, Kyla Kleege, Skye Nankervis, and Erin Weisert, to end the period with Wagner leading 9-3. 
 
The Camels would strike first in the second quarter, making the score 9-4, but the Green & White would respond with six straight goals to bring their lead to 15-4 entering the halftime break. Franciska Miló-Sidló recorded three goals in the eight minute span, while Weisert added her second score of the day, and Serena Thurman and Krystal Quintanilla each notched their first.
 
After Weisert opened the second half scoring with her third goal, Conn. College would record their final goal of the match with 5:21 remaining in the third period, making the score 16-5. 
 
In the final 13:21, Wagner would find the back of the cage another seven times, before an eventual final score of 23-5. Kristen Saczynski led the way with four scores, while Miló-Sidló added two more of her own and Weisert added one. 

No. 19 Wagner 13, No. 25 Cal-State Est Bay 7: Game Sheet
In their second matchup of the day, the Seahawks used a 4-0 second period to pull away from the No. 25-ranked Pioneers for an eventual 13-7 victory.
 
After opening the game with two straight goals from Valeria Rojas and Sofia Diaz Alvarez, the Pioneers would respond with a man-up score with 3:52 remaining in the period. Abbey Simshauser would get the lead back to two when she tallied her first goal of the day, but two goals by East Bay in the final minute of the period would knot the score up at 3-3.
 
In the second period, the Green & White defense held strong, keeping the Pioneers scoreless, while their offense scored four straight goals to give the Seahawks a 7-3 lead at the half. Diaz Alvarez and Simshauser each scored their second goals on the day, while Jacqui Sjogren led the period with two of her own.
 
The Seahawks would outpace the Pioneers 3-2 in each of the remaining periods, for an eventual final score of 13-7. Diaz Alvarez completed her hat trick in the third period, while Rojas added her second of the day and Skye Nankervis notched her first. In the final stanza, Simshauser brought her goal tally up to four, with two scores, and Malia Josephson recorded her first score of the day.
 
No. 19 Wagner 15, No. 22 Bucknell 5: Game Sheet
On the final day of the Harvard Invitational, the Seahawks would overpower the No. 22-ranked Bison in the second half to pull away for a 15-5 victory. 
 
Abbey Simshauser would get the scoring going in the first period, converting a penalty for the first score of the day. After adding her second score to extend the lead to two, Jacqui Sjogren found the back of the cage to make the lead at the end of the first period, 3-0 in favor of Wagner.
 
Bucknell would respond in the second, outscoring the Seahawks 3-2 in the period. However, Simshauser's third goal of the game, as well as Skye Nankervis' first would keep the Seahawks in front at the halftime break, 5-3. 
 
In the second half, the Green & White found their rhythm on both end of the pool outscoring the Bison 10-2. Sofia Diaz Alvarez started the scoring in the third to extend the lead to 6-3. After Bucknell responded with a goal of their own to cut the lead to two, Savannah Henshaw recorded her first score of the weekend, while Sjogren notched her second of the game and Nankervis completed her hat trick with two scores to put the Green & White up 10-4.
 
The Seahawks extended their scoring streak to eight with four-straight to open the final stanza, including two goals from Sjogren, as well as a goal apiece from Diaz Alvarez and Nankervis. After a Bucknell score to end the streak cut the lead to 14-5, Sjogren drew a penalty that Valeria Rojas would convert to make the final score 15-5.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE SEAHAWKS:
The Seahawks will be back in action next weekend, as they head west to San Diego, CA to compete in the Aztec Invitational on Friday and Saturday. They will be taking on four top-25 ranked opponents during the two-day invitational, beginning on Friday with their third match with No. 22 Bucknell at 4:00 pm EST, followed by the hosting No. 16 San Diego State Aztecs at 7:00 pm EST. They will wrap-up play with a double-header on Saturday, first taking on No. 15 Long Beach State at 11:40 am EST, before finishing up with No. 4 Hawaii at 7:50 pm EST.