LEXINGTON, Va. - The women's water polo team treks on down to the VMI Invite this weekend, which will be hosted by the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.
The first pair of matches will take place on Saturday, February 1st, and will be against the University of Toronto at 9:40 AM CT followed by VMI at 3:40 PM CT. The next day on Sunday, February 2nd will begin with a match against DIII No.7 Austin College at 7:00 AM CT and will conclude the invite with Bucknell University at 12:20 PM CT.
The Bearcats are 0-4 all-time in the VMI Invite, as last year was their first time in the event where they lost to two of the same opponents (Toronto and VMI) which they will face this year.
All contests will be streamed live on ESPN+ in the ESPN app or online at espn.com with a payment subscription required. Live stats for the matches will be determined before each contest as they can be found on https://www.thefosh.net/; see below for specific destinations for each stream and stats.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off their best start to the season since 2022, as they split their time at the annual Hoosier Classic 2-2 last weekend. They beat future WWPA-foe the University of California, Merced as well as Carthage College, but have stumbled against top-25 opponents in No.18 University of California Santa Barbara and No.11 Indiana University.
Against UC Merced, the Bearcats jumped to a 3-0 start and utilized an 8-0 run from late in the first quarter all the way to the start of the third period, where they would eventually win Interim Head Coach Alex Figueras' first game 15-5.
In the loss to No.18 UCSB, the Gauchos connected on the first nine goals of the game until McKendree's sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) and junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec) halted the run with a pair of scores. UCSB would tack on 10 more straight goals to end the game well in their favor, 19-2.
The next day against No.11 Indiana, it was almost the same story where the Hoosiers opened up on a 7-0 run and did not let up from there. Rebelo snuck in a pair with Morquecho getting one goal as the Bearcats fell, 3-13.
Wrapping up against Carthage, McKendree responded well as Morquecho recorded a hat-trick where they throttled the Firebirds in neutral waters, 15-7. It was the first two-ever wins at the Hoosier Classic since going 0-13 prior.
In the recent weekend, Morquecho led the team with seven goals (1.75 per game) and 20 drawn exclusions (5 per game) while shooting 38.9% on her shot attempts and adding a pair of steals. The transfer from Iona University is sixth in the WWPA in total goals (7) and goals per game.
Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) totaled 34 saves (8.5 per game) on 33 goals allowed in the Hoosier Classic while leading the team thus far with seven steals (1.75 per game) plus an assist while posting a total average of 50.7% in save percentage. Kane is first in the conference in save percentage (50.7%) and goals against average (9.42), as she is second in saves per game (8.5), total saves (34) and third in total steals (7) and steals per game (1.8). She is fourth in the entire nation in saves per game (8.5), while being fifth in save percentage (50.7%), goals against average (9.42), and steals per game (1.8).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
University of Toronto | Saturday, February 1st, 9:40 AM CT
Last Matchup: L, 4-8 on 2/3/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
This will be the second-ever meeting between the two programs. Toronto beat McKendree 8-4 last season as part of last year's VMI Invite.
The Varsity Blues compiled a 13-0 record in the fall half of the season, beating their opponents by an average of 14.8 goal margin. Their last official loss came to NCAA-member Azusa Pacific University at the Tina Finali Tournament (hosted by California Lutheran University) on February 23rd, 2024.
Virginia Military Institute | Saturday, February 1st, 3:40 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 13-12 on 2/18/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
This will be the sixth-ever meeting between the two programs, as they split last season, 1-1 with the Bearcats winning the most recent, 13-12 at the Macalester Invitational on February 18th, while VMI won earlier in the month at the VMI invite, 10-9 in overtime. The Keydets currently lead the series narrowly at 3-2.
This weekend will be the first time the Keydets have taken the waters in competition this season.
DIII No.7 Austin College | Sunday, February 2nd, 7:00 AM CT
Last Matchup: N/A
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
This weekend will be the first time the 'Roos have taken the waters in competition this season. They are coming in ranked No.7 in the Women's Varsity Division III Top 10.
Bucknell University | Sunday, February 2nd, 12:20 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 7-14 on 2/16/2020 | RECAP
This will be the fifth-ever meeting between the two programs, as Bucknell holds a lopsided 4-0 advantage in the series. The teams have not played each other since the 2020 season, which capped off four straight years of matching up against one another.
The Bison started their season last weekend at the Princeton Invitational (hosted by Princeton University) where they went 2-1 in the event. They started out with a 10-17 loss to Wagner College before narrowly winning the last two matches 9-8 and 10-9 in overtime against Siena College and La Salle University respectively.
TUNE IN-FO
vs University of Toronto
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – ESPN+)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
at Virginia Military Institute
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – ESPN+)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
vs Austin College
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – ESPN+)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
vs Bucknell University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – ESPN+)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
TEAM GUIDES
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Toronto] [VMI] [Austin] [Bucknell]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Toronto] [VMI] [Austin] [Bucknell]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [VMI] [Bucknell]
PARTICIPANTS
McKendree University
University of Toronto
Virginia Military Institute
Austin College
Bucknell University
Mount St. Mary's University (Md.)
Gannon University
Saint Francis University (Pa.)
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