Brittany Willwerth, Contributing Writer

In the season home-opener on Feb. 10–12, the women’s water polo team successfully bounced back following losses at the Bruno Classic on Feb. 4–5. The Bison Invitational included Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Gannon, George Washington, Harvard, Mercyhurst, Princeton, Saint Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis (Pa.), and Wagner.

Earning their first victory of the season, the Bison defeated Gannon 15-6 on Feb. 10. Leading the team was Emily Konishi ’19 with four total points. Manuela Herrera ’18 led the defensive unit in goal, recording seven total saves.

The Invitational continued Feb. 11 with the Orange and Blue defeating Mercyhurst with a 12-3 win. Nine different Bison players scored in the game, including Shyla Lintz ’18, Nina Benson ’20, and Marta Considine ’18 with two goals each. After allowing two goals in the first period, the Bison defense held the opposition to just one more goal the entire contest.

Victories for the Bison continued Feb. 11 during a dominating performance against St. Francis Brooklyn, resulting in a 13-5 win. Senior captain Tegan Stanbach ’17 led the team with a game-high four goals with Lintz and Considine close behind with five goals combined. Herrera and Haley Derrod ’17 each played one half of the contest in goal.

Closing the tournament, the Bison fell to No. 19 Wagner in a 14-6 loss, but totaled an impressive 20 shots. Lintz led the team with three goals. The Bison finished out the Invitational 3-1.

“We should be able to keep up the momentum going forward with our season and continue to improve and show other teams that we can play to a high standard. I think we really came together as a team this past week and had the drive and will to play well and win, and that carried into the weekend and we were able to convert that into some success,” Lintz said.

The Bison will be back in action at the Mercyhurst Invitational Feb. 18–19, facing George Washington, Mercyhurst, VMI, and Gannon.