GROVE CITY Pa. — Maria Sell (Jr., San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) of Connecticut College netted a tournament record 12 goals in a single game, but Penn State Behrend received scoring from nine different players as the Lions rallied back from an early deficit to overpower the Camels to start competition on Day Two of the 2022 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship.

Competing at Grove City College's James E. Longnecker Competition Pool, Penn State Behrend (8-16, 5-3 CWPA Division III-East) fell behind 3-0 with 5:50 left in the first quarter and trailed 5-2 after eight minutes of action.  Down 7-5 with 4:39 left in the second quarter, Penn State Behrend acquired the lead prior to halftime by rattling off a 5-1 run to the horn to pull ahead 10-8.  The Lions kept the Camels (2-13, 2-6 CWPA Division III-East) at bay the rest of the way by outscoring Connecticut 6-3 in the third quarter prior to keeping pace with their foes to gain a 19-15 victory.

The win advances the Lions to a 3:20 p.m. game versus Washington & Jefferson College with a spot in the Fifth Place game on Saturday, April 23, at stake, while a loss drops the fallen into the Seventh Place contest at 9:00 a.m.  It will mark the fourth meeting of the year between the Lions and Presidents as W&J claimed 12-11 (March 19 at Washington & Jefferson), 11-10 (March 26 at Penn State Behrend) and 11-7 (April 10 at Connecticut) wins.

The Camels jumped ahead in the first 130 seconds of the first quarter as Sell stuffed in shots at 7:23, 6:31 and 5:50 to give Connecticut an early 3-0 margin.  Marley Persch (Fr., Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) put Penn State Behrend on the board at 3:39 prior to Sell stroking home a man-up strike at 1:51 prior to Marissa Moreno (Sr., San Diego, Calif./Grossmont) lining in a shot at 1:10 as the Lions pulled ahead by four at 5-1 with the first quarter clock winding down.

Brooklynn Mocny (So., Sunnyvale, Calif./Homestead) trimmed Behrend's lead down to three at 5-2 prior to the close of the opening frame as the second-year lofted a ball into the twine with 39 seconds left on the clock.

Shannon Young (Jr., Roseville, Calif./Roseville) and Mocny continued a mini-run by the Lions as the duo deposited man-up markers at 7:47 and 6:30, respectively, in the dawning moments of the second quarter to inch Penn State Behrend to within one at 5-4.

Following a power-play answer by Connecticut's Gicel Zuniga (So., Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) at 6:05 to enlarge the Camels' margin back to a pair at 6-4, the teams exchanged scoring blows with Olivia Wright (So., Fairview, Pa./Fairview) (5:53) and Sell (4:39) delivering for their squads to shrink (6-5) and grow (7-5) the spread as Connecticut held onto a narrow lead.

The contest turned in the final four minutes of the first half as Persch buried chances at 4:25 and 3:24 to square the squads at seven-all prior to Emily McNaughton (Jr., Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) and Mocny giving the Lions the lead and some insurance at 3:02 and 2:07, respectively, as Penn State Behrend pulled ahead to stay at 9-7.

Connecticut attempted to erase its deficit before halftime as Sell tossed in a man-up bid at 1:26, but Kayla Scarpaci (Jr., Cypress, Texas/Langham Creek) answered with 36 ticks left on the second quarter clock as Penn State Behrend carried a 10-8 lead into intermission.

Wright padded her team's scoreboard advantage to three at 11-8 52 seconds into the third quarter, but a successful penalty shot (6:55) followed by a natural marker (6:26) by Sell moved Connecticut within striking distance of the Lions at 11-10.

Needing an offensive surge to gain some breathing room, the trio of McNaughton, Sarah Mancebo (So., Tulare, Calif./Mission Oak) and Persch delivered for the Lions.
McNaughton lined in a five-meter penalty shot (6:08) and even-strength chance (3:19) to bookend natural goals by Mancebo (5:39) and Persch (4:10) as Penn State Behrend raced ahead 15-10.

Sell attempted to reinvigorate the Camels' offense by finding the twine at 2:24, but McNaughton delivered a counterpoint at 1:13 by converting on another man-up opportunity for the eventual game-winning goal as the Lions went into the final eight minutes of regulation with a 16-11 lead.

Connecticut closed to within three to start the fourth quarter as Sell dented the mesh at 6:46 and 6:09, but Persch (4:59) and Samantha Darrell (Fr., Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) (4:05) answered to return a five-goal lead to Penn State Behrend at 18-13.

The teams traded tallies down the stretch as Sell (2:51) and Lien Har (Jr., Orange, Conn./Hopkins School) (1:33) sandwiched a marker by Angela Laier (Sr., Lansing, Mich./Holt) (2:31).
Persch (five), McNaughton (four), Mocny (three) and Wright (two) all posted multi-goal games for Penn State Behrend, while Mancebo, Scarpaci, Young, Laier and Darrell each contributed solo scores.  Chloe Dodgen (Jr., Riverside, Calif./Hillcrest) earned the win between the pipes with eight saves.

Sell accounted for the majority of Connecticut's offense with 12 of her team's 15 goals.  Zuniga, Har and Moreno each chipped in single strikes in support of a four save performance by netminder Olivia Fechner-Lewis (Sr., Berkeley, Calif./Berkeley).

The loss drops the four-time (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) CWPA Division III Champion Camels into a tournament concluding Ninth Place game showdown with Utica College at 6:00 p.m. The Camels are 2-0 against the Pioneers in 2022 with 13-6 (March 19 at Washington & Jefferson) and 12-7 (April 10 at Connecticut) wins in CWPA Division III-East Region regular season competition.
Historically, Connecticut previously finished first (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), second (2018), third (2012), fourth (2017, 2019), fifth (2010) and sixth (2011) at the CWPA Division III Championship.  The 2020 season was terminated prior to the championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Connecticut elected not to compete during the COVID-19 abbreviated 2021 season.