EMMITSBURG, Md. (February 5, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's women's water polo rode a comfortable halftime lead into a second half shutout of the Mercyhurst Lakers. Ahead 8-4 at the break, the Mount scored seven more times over the final 16 minutes to win 15-4 Sunday at the ARCC Swimming Pool.
 
Annefluer ten Bloemendal and Rebecca Valentine led the Mountaineers with four goals each. Ana Luisa Cotta had the most points with seven, divided by four assists and three goals. On defense, goalkeeper Pip Piper tallied double digit in saves with four steals.
 
Mercyhurst never led in the contest. A goal from Rachel Vlieststra tied the game at 1-1 with 5:24 left in the first quarter, but Cotta responded with a score to kick off a 3-0 run that put the Mount up for good. The Lakers and Mountaineers repeated their totals in both the first and second quarters. However, a score from Allie Dombrowski with 24 seconds remaining in the half would be the last time Mercyhurst would find the back of the net.
 
Robyn Currie was the first to score in the third quarter in what amounted to a 7-0 run to finish the game. Valentine got the fourth quarter started by converting a penalty and Emily Van Kerckhove punctuated the game with her first goal of the year.  
 
Mount St. Mary's shot 48 percent for the game and went 4-for-6 on the power play. The four goals surrendered are the second fewest for any contest in program history.
 
Next weekend brings the Bison Invitational, hosted by Bucknell. The Mount will rematch Mercyhurst and challenge St. Francis Brooklyn and Princeton.
 
Mount St. Mary's 15, Mercyhurst 4
 
Team                  1    2    3    4
Mount St. Mary's      4    4    4    3
Mercyhurst            2    2    0    0
 
Goals: ten Bloemendal 4, Valentine 4, Cotta 3, Currie 2, Vieira 1, Van Kerckhove 1
 
Saves: Piper 10, Keyser 1