Maryland Water Polo Drops Overtime Heartbreaker To George Washington
3/8/2005 7:00:00 AM | Water Polo
March 8, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Maryland women's water polo team dropped a heartbreaker to Southern Division rival George Washington, 8-6, in overtime Tuesday at the Colonials' Charles E. Smith Center.
The Terps (4-10, 1-3 Southern Division) were leading 3-2 at the end of the first quarter and 5-3 at halftime. But the Colonials (6-5) tied the score at 5-5 by the end of the third period, then took a 6-5 lead with 3:16 left in regulation.
Down a player due to an ejection with just 1:15 left, senior Colleen McShane (Chicago, Ill.) got a steal and a breakaway and tied the score at 6-6 with 1:10 left in regulation. The Terps then forced an ejection with 34 seconds left but couldn't convert on the final 6-on-5 advantage, sending the game into overtime.
A few small mistakes in the first extra period cost the Terps two Colonial goals, and Maryland was unable to recover, falling to George Washington, 8-6.
McShane notched a hat trick, accounting for half of the Terps' total offensive output. Junior Allison Kuzniar (St. Charles, Ill.) scored two goals and had two steals, while senior Juli Jordan (Springfield, Va.) scored one goal. Freshman Allie Houseal (Harleysville, Pa.) led Maryland with four steals on the night.
Junior goalie Marissa Corwin (Orinda, Calif.) came up with 16 blocks while allowing all eight Colonial goals. She also had three steals.
"Marissa had another monster game in the cage," head coach Carl Salyer said.
"This was the best game we've played this year," Salyer said. "The girls came out and played hard. They played with a lot of heart, a lot of passion. They absolutely out-hustled George Washington in every aspect of the game.
"I can't express how pleased I am with the girls."
The Terps return to the pool Saturday, March 12 for the Maryland Alumni Game at 3 p.m. at the Campus Recreation Center Natatorium. Their next competitive game action is Saturday-Sunday, March 19-20, when they travel to Erie, Pa. for the Penn State-Behrend Invitational, where they will face Notre Dame, Utica, Ottawa and host PSU-Behrend.
George Washington 8, Maryland 6 (OT) Maryland 3 2 0 1 0 0 6 GWU 2 1 2 1 2 0 8 Maryland Goals: McShane (3), Kuzniar (2), Jordan
