MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth’s home pool was to their liking, posting a 3-1 record over the women’s water polo weekend to clinch second place in the regular season league standings – their highest finish in the history of the program.
The Fighting Scots’ lone loss of the weekend came in Saturday’s opener, a 10-9 overtime loss to league-leader Macalester. Becca Dabrowski pumped in eight goals including a score with 1:55 left in regulation to give Monmouth a 7-6 lead. Macalester then scored with 11 seconds left to force OT. The Scots from Minnesota took the match with 2:53 left in the second overtime after each team scored a pair of goals in the first extra session.
Monmouth drew even on the weekend in Saturday’s late game, a 12-6 win over Penn State Behrend. Brenna Bowers broke the ice for the Scots who rolled to a 6-0 first quarter lead. The margin increased to eight at 9-1 on Dabrowski’s fourth goal. Trailing 10-3 in the final period, the Lions’ late rally fell short as Natalie Curtis posted a double-digit save game.
A win to open Sunday’s play clinched the Scots’ highest league finish in program history. Their historic first win over Washington and Jefferson came via a 12-6 final as Dabrowski landed a game-high six goals. Monmouth raced out to a 6-3 halftime lead and piled on five additional scores in the final quarter to put the game away.
A defensive battle highlighted the weekend’s final match, a 6-4 Monmouth win over Carthage. The Lady Reds scored first in the opening quarter, but the Scots answered with two tallies of their own in the frame. A scoreless second quarter ensued as the teams headed to the final 16 minutes with Monmouth nursing a 2-1 lead. Back-to-back Dabrowski goals in the third quarter pushed Monmouth’s lead to 4-1. A Melissa Barrios score made it 5-2 as the game headed to the final frame. Carthage’s two-goal fourth quarter rally fell short as Curtis turned aside 13 shots in the contest.
The weekend gives Monmouth the No. 2 seed at the Division III Championships Apr. 14-15 hosted by Penn State Behrend in Erie, Pa. It’s the Scots’ highest seed in their five-year history.
