Maryland Finishes Third in CWPA Eastern Championship
4/26/2009 8:00:00 AM | Water Polo
April 26, 2009
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Elina Goldenberg scored a game-high four goals and Shannon Simerly tallied three to lead the University of Maryland women's water polo team to a 12-8 victory over No. 19 Brown Sunday in the third-place game of the CWPA Eastern Championship.
With the 20th-ranked and third-seeded Terps (16-13) clinging to a 9-8 lead late in the fourth quarter, Goldenberg scored two insurance goals and Rachel Jordan added one.
The game, which was played at Harvard's Blodgett Pool, was close throughout, with the Terps holding a 2-1 edge after the first period, but fifth-seeded Brown coming back to tie the game at 4-all at halftime.
"We played well today," head coach Carl Salyer said. "We finished the tournament on a strong note and got a quality third-place win. It was a great way to end the season."
Second-seeded Michigan claimed the CWPA Eastern Championship with a 12-6 win over top-seeded Hartwick.
The Wolverines receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship which is scheduled for May 8-10 in College Park, Md.
Despite Sunday's loss, Maryland closed out the season strong. The Terps won seven of their last nine contests and lost to 12th-ranked Michigan by a goal in Saturday's semifinals.
"The team played great the last two weeks," Salyer said. "I thought we played our best water polo this weekend."
Salyer says good-bye to his first recruiting class as eight seniors played their final game as Terps.
"It's a sad day," Salyer said. "The senior class did a great job the last four years. They gave great effort and improved every year."
No. 20 Maryland 12, No. 19 Brown 8
1 2 3 4 F Brown 1 3 2 2 8 Maryland 2 2 4 4 12
Maryland Goals: Elina Goldenberg (4); Shannon Simerly (3); Christen Vagts (2); Rachel Jordan (2); Christine Goetsch
Brown Goals: Sarah Glick (3); Lauren Presant (2); Rita Bullwinkel (2); Samantha Ryu
Saves: Maryland - Ashleigh Jobson (4); Brown - Stephanie Laing (9)
Ejections: Maryland - 19 ; Brown - 17
Sprints: Maryland - Elizabeth Hopkins (3 - 1st, 3rd, 4th) ; Brown - Samantha Ryu (1 - 2nd)
Material from the CWPA Web site contributed to this story
