O'FALLON, Ill. - The women's water polo team is back for their home opener against DIII No.5 Augustana College (Ill.) on Saturday, March 8th with a 2:00 PM start time at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O'Fallon, Illinois.
The contest will be streamed live for free on the Western Water Polo Association website at team1sports.com/wwpa/. Live stats for the match will be on https://www.thefosh.net/; see below for the specific destination.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming home from a five-game stretch in California where they went 2-3, including a 1-3 mark inside the annual Convergence Tournament. The team now sits at 14-6 overall and has yet to play in WWPA action.
In Thursday's win at DIII (RV) Whittier College, it was a tight matchup for most of the first half, but McKendree enacted on a pair of 5-0 runs in the second half to pull away convincingly against the Poets. Sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.), sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) and junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec) each recorded a hat trick of three goals.
In Friday's game one loss to Azusa Pacific University, it was a seesaw affair between the two teams before the Cougars would lead by two midway through the third quarter. The Bearcats would be on the opposition's heels from there but Azusa Pacific closed the match out on another run of 3-1 to beat McKendree 13-10. Munoz snagged another hat-trick of three goals within the process.
In Friday's game two loss at DIII No.2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, the Athenas controlled much of the first three quarters of action to lead 11-4. McKendree ignited a 5-2 to cut their deficit to just four points. However, CMS would seal the game away with three straight goals and eventually win the game 16-11. Rebelo and junior attacker Jazmine Sandoval (Westminster, Calif.) each tallied three goals in the match.
In Saturday's game one loss to No.23 Villanova University, the Wildcats began the game up 8-3 and barely regressed from there as they beat McKendree 13-4. Morquecho gave her Bearcats two goals in the defeat.
In Saturday's game two win at DIII No.8 Occidental College, the Bearcats found their dominant selves back. After a tied 2-2 game to open up, McKendree would scorch on a 6-1 run to lead 9-4 at the end of the third period of play. The Tigers tried to claw their way back into it but the Bearcats used another run of 5-1 to win handily 14-6 to close out the tournament. Morquecho had herself a game with five goals on seven shot attempts.
Morquecho has been a force in the waters day in and day out for the Bearcats. She averaged 2.8 goals (14 total), 0.2 assists (1 total), 3.4 drawn exclusions (17 total), and 0.6 steals (3 total) in the five games played this weekend on a 41.2% (14-for-34) shooting percentage. The sophomore leads the team in goals (55), shot attempts (111), and drawn exclusions (62). The Chicago, Illinois native ranks at the top of the WWPA currently in total goals (1st – 55), total points (3rd – 58), total steals (4th – 17), goals per game (2nd – 2.8), and points per game (7th – 2.9). Morquecho is top nationally in total goals (5th – 55).
Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) held serve immensely on the defensive end, playing in all five contests at the Convergence Tournament. She averaged 13.2 saves (66 total) on 10.8 (54 total) goals allowed (55.0% save percentage), along with 0.8 steals (4 total) in the five games played this weekend in all 160:00 out of 160:00 minutes. The senior is top in the WWPA in total steals (2nd – 20), total saves (1st – 224), save percentage (1st – 57.7%), goals-against average (1st – 8.75, saves per game (1st – 11.2), and steals per game (6th – 1.0). The Kankakee, Illinois native is top nationally as of March 3rd in total saves (1st – 224), save percentage (1st – 57.7%), goals-against average (2nd – 8.75), and saves per game (1st – 11.2).
With her spotlight performances, Kane received this week's WWPA Defensive Player of the Week honors. It was her third time receiving the recognition in the season and the fifth time overall.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
DIII No.5 Augustana College | Saturday, March 8th, 2:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 9-5 on 2/8/2025 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
This will be the eighth-ever meeting between the two programs. McKendree beat Augustana 9-5 exactly one month ago when they play them this Saturday. They lost to the Vikings 7-8 in the meeting prior but have reeled in the first five in the series, giving the Bearcats a current 6-1 lead in the series history.
The Vikings are currently 7-3 in almost halfway through their season with yet to play in CWPA action. They also competed in the Convergence Tournament, as they went a perfect 4-0 including coming victorious against three wins against Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 teams. Augustana themselves are placed at No.5 is this week's aforementioned poll.
TUNE IN-FO
vs DIII No.5 Augustana College
WATCH: Click HERE (FREE – WWPA)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM GUIDES
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Augustana]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Augustana]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Augustana]
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