The Bison women’s water polo team went 1-1 in their games this past weekend against Mount St. Mary’s and Michigan on Saturday April 3. While the Bison pulled off a 7-4 victory against the Mount, they could not hold off the Wolverines’ attack, falling 7-14. The Orange and Blue now sit at 9-13 on the season and 3-7 in the CWPA. 

The first of the games was an exciting victory for the Bison, as the defense held the Mount to a season low of four goals. The Orange and Blue got on the board early, with four goals coming from four different goal-scorers: Paige Furano ’22, Chloe Smith ’23, Bella Moynihan ’23 and Larissa Hodzic ’22. The defense remained strong, keeping the Mount off of the board until just over the five minute mark of the second quarter. Hodzic scored her second goal of the night right before halftime, giving the Bison a 5-1 lead at the break. The Mount came out much stronger in the second half, outscoring the Bison 2-1 in the third quarter. It was Hodzic’s third goal of the night at the end of the third quarter that was critical, maintaining the Bison’s lead, 6-3. In the final quarter, the Orange and Blue held Mount St. Mary’s to one goal while Emma Molaski ’24 slotted away a late one, securing the 7-4 victory.

In the second match-up of the day, the Orange and Blue were quickly met by the strategic Wolverines, who led 4-1 after the first quarter, which was their smallest margin of victory throughout the game. Caroline Oates ’25 was able to find the back of the net for the Bison in the second quarter, but this was not enough to stop the Wolverine attack, which managed to score an additional three goals in the second quarter, leading the Bison 7-2 at the half. Isabelle Monaghan ’24 completed a hat trick in the second half, along with goals from Smith and Molaski. This finished off the Bison’s scoring for the night, as they continued to defend the Wolverines until the final whistle. Despite the 7-14 loss, the Bison battled until the end. 

In speaking with Hodzic, she expressed how well the games went. She acknowledged how the “Mount St. Mary’s game was a big win for us as it was a league game and it was an opportunity for the team to put together everything we’ve been building on throughout the last couple of weeks.” Hodzic acknowledged that “Michigan has some of the top collegiate athletes in the nation, so it’s always a tough battle when we face off against them.”

“Although we couldn’t walk away with a win, we were able to put away some big shots on offense and big stops on defense to keep a closer game as opposed to the last time we played them,” she added. The team continues preparations for their remaining league games and looks forward to finishing the season on a high note. 

The Bison close out their regular season on the road at Harvard on April 9 at 3 p.m., followed by Brown on April 10 at 9 a.m. The Orange and Blue will then host the CWPA championship the weekend of April 22-24.