NORTON, Mass. – The Connecticut College women's water polo team closed out the year going 2-2 at the CWPA Championships to finish in seventh place

GAME 1: Macalester 11, Conn 6

Conn opened the championships against second seed Macalester on Friday morning. The first half was a back-and-forth affair, as neither side led by more than two goals. The teams traded the first four goals, with Ainsley Cornwall (San Mateo, Calif.) and Juno Aselton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each finding the cage, before a late tally from Macalester had them in front 3-2 after one.

The Scots pushed the lead to 4-2 early in the second quarter, but Conn answered with back-to-back tallies from Sarah Nagel (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Aselton to even the score. Jess Palmer-Sammons scored with 2:39 left in the half to give Macalester a 5-4 lead at the break.

The Scots outscored the Camels 4-1 in the third quarter to put some separation between the teams. Conn's lone goal came from Aselton, as the Camels trailed 9-5 heading to the fourth. Aselton cut the deficit to three 17 seconds into the final frame, but Macalester added two late goals to come away with the 11-6 win.

GAME 2: Washington & Jefferson 12, Conn 11 (OT)

Conn returned to action on Saturday morning against Washington & Jefferson. W&J opened the scoring 44 seconds in, before Emma Luna (Wahiawa, Hawaii) scored twice to put Conn in front 2-1. Emmie Ratcliff answered back for the Presidents as the game was tied at two after one. Both defenses upped the pressure in the second quarter, as W&J tallied the only two goals of the quarter to lead 4-2 at the break.

The Presidents continued their run to start the second half, scoring twice to extend the advantage to 6-2. Luna ended the run, before Mackenzie Caron and Brooke Brandenburger (Sacramento, Calif.) canceled each other with goals, as W&J led 7-4 heading to the fourth.

Conn roared back in the final quarter, finding the back of the cage three times in the opening two and a half minutes off a goal apiece from Aselton, Cornwall, and Melia Lorch (Encinitas, Calif.). The Presidents retook the lead at 5:06, but Cornwall and Lorch went back-to-back to make it 9-8 Conn. W&J scored the next two goals, before Aselton tied at 10 to send the game to overtime. Lorch struck first for the Camels at 2:11, before Caron tied it with 1:09 to play. With the game looking like it was headed to a second overtime, Hallie Ratcliff scored with four seconds left to give W&J the 12-11 win.

GAME 3: Conn 13, Wheaton 4

Conn bounced back Saturday afternoon with a dominant performance against Wheaton. The Camels came out flying, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. During the opening frame, Conn got one goal each from Luna, Nagel, and Kendall Halfacre (Aurora, Calif.). Luna scored twice early in the second quarter to push the lead to 5-0, before Wheaton answered with back-to-back tallies. The Camels ended the quarter with two goals from Cornwall and one from Maddie Baybeck (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to lead 8-2 at the half.

The scoring slowed down in the third quarter as both sides found the net once, with the Camels lone goal coming from Lorch to lead 9-3 heading to the fourth. Anna Tyalor (Pleasanton, Calif.) scored early in the final frame, before Sophia Romo answered for the Lyons. Conn ended the game with two goals from Luna and another from Baybeck to come away with the 13-4 win.

GAME 4: Conn 16, PSB 7

Conn closed out the championships on Sunday morning against Penn State Behrend in the seventh place game. PSB opened the scoring just 13 seconds in, but Conn responded by scoring five of the final six goals of the opening quarter to lead 5-2 after one. Aselton and Cornwall both scored twice, while Luna added the fifth goal.

The second quarter was more even as the Camels outscored the Lions 4-3. PSB struck first, but Aselton answered with two straight goals. From there, the teams traded the next four goals, with Brandenburger and Luna netting for Conn, as the Camels led 9-5 at the break.

The teams went back-and-forth in the third quarter, trading goals, with Conn outscoring PSB 3-2. Taylor, Luna, and Lorch each scored once, as Conn took a 12-7 lead into the final quarter. The Camels dominated the fourth quarter to pull away from the Lions, scoring all four goals in the frame. Conn had four different goalscorers as Brandenburger, Lorch, Luna, and Nagel each scored once to give the Camels the 16-7 win.

Conn's season comes to a close with a 5-10 record overall and a 2-6 mark in CWPA action.