ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's water polo team edged the visiting McKendree Bearcats on Saturday, winning by a score of 8-7 in the first and only home game of the 2024 season.

Charlotte Newport broke a near five-minute scoreless streak for the game's first goal at the 3:15 mark, giving Augie a 1-0 advantage. The Bearcats notched the final two scores of the first, both coming with under a minute to go, and held a 2-1 lead after eight minutes of play. The separation for the visitors increased by a point to begin the second, but Ocean Akau brought the Vikings back within one with a tally around the four-minute mark. The two teams traded one more score apiece, with Casey Barragan accounting for the half's final goal with 24 seconds remaining. McKendree led 4-3 at the break.

Another long span of scoreless action ensued out of the half before Barragan notched her second goal of the game to even the score. The Bearcats reclaimed the lead over a minute later and added another to their total with 11 seconds showing on the clock to take a 6-4 lead into the final frame. 

Augustana stormed out of the quarter break with the fourth period's first three scores to give them its first lead of the contest. Newport began the scoring with her second of the day, followed by powerplay goals from Maggie Caliendo and Akau. A McKendree goal with two minutes to go evened the score at seven, but Barragan answered on the following possession with the go-ahead tally. The Vikings posted several defensive stops down the stretch and eventually played keep-away as the seconds ran off the clock to seal the 8-7 victory. The win is the first-ever over McKendree for Augustana in program history, breaking a five-game skid.

Barragan led Augie with three goals and five drawn exclusions, while Newport and Akau each contributed two scores. Susan Palmentera-Reid earned the win in net after grabbing 10 saves.

With the win, Augustana improves to 8-3 on the season and will be back in action for conference play March 23-24 in St. Paul, Minn.