BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The women's water polo team split its two games on day one with a win against the University of California, Merced, and a loss to No.18 University of California Santa Barbara in non-conference action on Saturday, January 25th, at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington, Indiana. 

MATCH ONE vs. UC Merced

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 15, University of California, Merced 5 

Record: Bearcats 1-0, 0-0 WWPA | Bobcats 0-3 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

McKendree jumped into the Indiana waters to begin their season as they felt the need to bring it their all. They scored the first three goals of the match within a 1:13 span from McKendree's fifth-year attacker Jasmin Guzman (Cicero, Ill.), sophomore attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain), and sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.). 

Soon after UC Merced would tack on a mini 2-1 run in the middle of the first quarter as freshman center Kiryn Wicker and sophomore utility Piper Ferris were in on the scoring possessions for the Bobcats. 

From late in the first period of play all the way to the middle of the third quarter, the Bearcats embarked on a monumental 8-0 run, where Guzman, and Márquez each earned themselves a hat-trick from within the huge spurt. Attackers freshman Kaitlyn Goins (East Grand Rapids, Mich.), sophomore Emma Dore (Pomona, Calif.), and junior Dylan Murphy (Carlsbad, Calif.) were in on the other three scoring possessions. 

The Bobcats responded on another small run, this time with a 3-1 spark that bled into the fourth quarter. However, McKendree was able to seal the deal with freshman utility Maisie Mattocks' (Shutesbury, Mass.) second goal and the game plus one from freshan center defender Payton Dowler (Regina, Saskatchewan) to give the Bearcats the 15-5 win in their first game of the season. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Márquez and Guzman led the way for McKendree with their hat-tricks as the former received a drawn exclusion, plus a steal.  

• Mattocks and Morquecho each dropped in a pair of goals in the win while the latter of the two picked up three drawn exclusions. 

• Bearcat senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) tallied 13 saves in 28:33 of action. Freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Zurawski (San Antonio, Texas) had one save in a little over three minutes of action. 

• The Bearcats had 11 assists on their 15 goals. 

• The 10-point margin is the largest since March 30th of last season, when they won 17-5 at Carthage College. That is also the last time McKendree has put in 15+ goals in a match. 

• UC Merced was 4-0 on sprints. 

MATCH TWO vs. UC Santa Barbara

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 2, University of California Santa Barbara 19 

Record: Bearcats 1-1, 0-0 WWPA | Gauchos 4-0, 0-0 Big West 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

The number 18 team in the country in UC Santa Barbara showed their dominance against McKendree throughout the whole contest. The Gauchos started the game on a 9-0 spurt that lasted all the way until 2:22 remaining in the first half of play. 

Morquecho was able to snag her third goal of the day and halt the UCSB run. She was soon later followed by last year's scoring leader, junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec), who slinged one in with eight seconds remaining in the second quarter. 

From there, the Gauchos would reel off 10 more straight goals, keeping the Bearcats away from getting on the board again 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Rebelo and Morquecho each had one goal for McKendree, as Morquecho finished with a steal and a career-high eight drawn exclusions. 

• Murphy ended the game with an assist and a trio of drawn exclusions. 

• UCSB senior attacker Juju Amaral led the Gauchos with four goals, an assist, and a steal. 

• Kane played 24 minutes in the cage and saved the ball seven times. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats were +12 in drawn exclusions and +1 in field blocks. 

• The Gauchos were +19 in shot attempts, +8 in steals, and owned a 4-0 advantage in sprints. 

UP NEXT

Mckendree will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday, January 26th for day two of the Hoosier Classic as they will face No.11 Indiana University at 12:30 PM CT and then Carthage College at 3:00 PM CT at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center (CBAC) in Bloomington, Indiana. 

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