The varsity girls water polo made their WCAL debut for the season on September 9th, facing off
against Sacred Heart Prep. The Lancers and Gators faced off in the WCAL finals last year with a
score of 4-18. This year, Saint Francis is looking to upset the 3rd-year reigning CCS Open Division
Champions.
Early into the first quarter, both teams managed to start off the game with a fast pace, and Sacred
Heart scored the first two goals. However, the Lancers surged forward with two goals from Sloane
Donahue '29, finishing the first quarter 2-3.
"I think that we came out really strong. The 1st quarter was like a pretty close game," Alex Swall
'27, one of the captains of the team, said.
The next quarter was not as strong as the first, with the Gators going on a run of nine goals. The
Lancers' defense was relentless nonetheless, with multiple blocks from the goalie, Rene Jacobson
'28, in an attempt to slow Sacred Heart's control of the game down. The second quarter ended
with the Lancers behind, 2-12.
"As we got more tired, they started countering us, and we just kind of lost the momentum,"
Donahue said.
Coming off halftime, the third quarter resulted in good plays from the Lancers, with Coco
Cracolice '29 starting the quarter off with a goal from a pass from Donahue. The Lancers slowly
began to gain their tempo back, with Sacred Heart being limited to five goals.
"We like to say it's the 3rd quarter push. It's like, that's the hardest quarter. And I think if you
push the 3rd quarter and then the 4th quarter, you just have to bring it home," Swall said.
In the final quarter, the Lancers were able to make a last push, with a play from Sophia Fisher '27
to Jackie Hunyady '29, to Cracolice , who then passed it to Annie Carr '28 in the center, creating an
opportunity for them to score. Carr came back again with four minutes and nineteen seconds on
the clock, shifting the momentum of the game. The Lancers scored their last goal of the game off
of a penalty shot by Hunyady, and the game finished with a score of 6-21.
"I feel like this is a good start to our season, and I think it's going to help us know what we need to
work on in practice," Swall said.