The women’s water polo team came out fighting in their tournament at George Washington on March 30-31, adding two more wins to their streak on the afternoon of March 30 against both the home team, George Washington, and Saint Francis. The Bison finished with a 2-1 record for the weekend after a close loss to No. 14 Harvard on March 31. The team’s overall record now stands at 19-9.

In their first game of the weekend, Ally Furano ’21 kicked off the match for the Bison with a goal early in the game against George Washington. Nina Benson ’20 tacked another onto the scoreboard before George Washington had a chance to respond, making the score 2-1 in favor of the Bison at the end of the first period.

Ally Furano and her sister Paige Furano ’22 linked up twice in the pool for goals to pull the Bison ahead when George Washington came within one goal in the second and third periods. Kali Hyham ’21 and Benson each added two more goals for the Orange and Blue, helping the team hold on for an 11-7 victory. Hayley Pogue ’20 and Georgia Lewis ’22 shared time in goal and combined for a total of nine saves in the game.

The Bison kept their momentum in their second matchup of the day with a 16-8 win against St. Francis. The team claimed a 6-2 lead early with goals from Benson, Hyham, and Sarah Mooney ’19. P. Furano also added a goal of her own to help the Bison gain a six-point lead before St. Francis responded with a goal.

The Orange and Blue continued their momentum, starting the second half with six more unanswered goals to take a 14-3 lead. Benson achieved a season-high seven points on five goals and two assists during the game. The Furano sisters also had outstanding performances with three goals and two assists from Ally Furano and three goals and five assists from Paige Furano. Pogue and Lewis combined for three saves in net for the Bison.

Although the Bison kept fighting, they surrendered a close 15-13 defeat to No.14 Harvard on March 31. After Hyham drew an exclusion, Ally Furano scored a goal during the ensuing power play to cut into Harvard’s 2-0 lead at the beginning of the game. When Harvard pushed ahead to a 3-2 lead, Benson tied things up with an assist from Paige Furano.

The Bison continued to battle back from a 7-4 deficit and tied the game entering the halftime break. The contest stayed neck-and-neck in the third quarter, with the Orange and Blue tying it up at 11-11 after another goal from Paige Furano before Harvard answered back, bringing the score to 12-11.

Paige Furano responded with another goal, but the Crimson continued to fight and answered with another tally just a few minutes later. One final strike from Harvard with just a minute left to go in the game sealed the win for the Crimson and gave them a 15-13 victory over the Bison.

Despite the close loss, Paige Furano finished with seven goals in the contest and tied the single-game goal record for the school. The Furano sisters combined for ten of the Bison’s 13 goals, with Benson adding two and Mooney collecting the last one.

“This weekend was a great opportunity to get prepared for our upcoming weekend of league games,” Hyham said. “Everyone is happy with how we played as a team and now we are looking forward to our upcoming competition at Harvard this weekend.”

The team will play three games at Harvard on April 6-7, against Brown, Harvard, and George Washington. The team will have another shot at beating the Crimson in a rematch.