SLIPPERY ROCK — Barbie Cessar was shocked by the sheer brutality of it all.

Her head was dunked under the water and held there. She struggled to break free and fought for space to move in the pool.

Water polo was not what she expected it to be.

Not even close.

“During the first few practices, it was all fun,” said Cessar, who just completed her freshman year at Penn State Behrend as a member of the women's swimming and diving and water polo teams at the school. “Then we played our first game and it was really intense. I guess I didn't know what I was getting myself into.”

But Cessar's own aggressiveness, forged from years of playing soccer and the physical battles she waged on the pitch, kicked in.

She dished the punishment right back.

And a water polo player was born.

“I learned a couple of tricks,” Cessar said, chuckling.

Cessar had no designs on playing water polo at Behrend.

She went to the school to swim after turning in a solid career at Slippery Rock High.

But a rash of injuries left Behrend women's water polo coach Joe Tristan's roster precariously thin.

He approached a few of the freshmen swimmers at the school and floated the idea of giving water polo a try.

Cessar was one of the first to jump at the opportunity.

It didn't take Tristan long to discover Cessar had certain intangibles in the pool that he had rarely seen — even from players with much more experience.

“I was watching her do things that you never see a first-year player do,” Tristan said. “She has a natural flow with the game and in the pool.

“The most impressive thing was she didn't back down and was aggressive,” Tristan said. “She went after the ball. I think that's where her soccer instincts came in.”

Cessar was a defender for the Rockets' soccer team throughout her high school career.

But in the pool for the Lions' water polo team, she was a driver — a wing player who's primary responsibility is to facilitate goals.

“It's kind of funny, but on land I'm pretty slow,” Cessar said, laughing. “In the water, I have more speed and am pretty fast.”

That comes from her skills as a swimmer.

Cessar holds a Slippery Rock school record as a member of the 200 medley relay team.

Her best event is the 200 breaststroke, which serves her well in the pool as a water polo player.

What Cessar didn't realize was how physically demanding and taxing the sport can be.

“You have to stay above the water, so you are kicking constantly,” Cessar said. “It helped me a lot that I have strong legs.”

But Cessar did have some growing pains in the sports.

For one, she found out the hard way that when she was at the shallow end of the pool in some venues, like Washington & Jefferson College, that it was a huge no-no to put her feet down on the pool floor.

“It's against the rules,” Cessar said. “I guess they can tell because you bob in the water. So I had to learn not to do that.”

She also had to learn some of the finer points of the game when it came to offensive and defensive strategy.

“It was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be,” Cessar said. “It helped a little having played soccer and I felt like I definitely made huge progress.”

Behrend went 4-21, but was very competitive against other Division III schools on its schedule.

Late in the season, Cessar had her finest moment.

Against Division I Villanova — the same team that opened her eyes to the physicality of the game in her very first match — Cessar stole the ball, beat the defense down the length of the pool and scored a goal.

“We were watching her do that,” Tristan said. “And we were like, 'Wow. That was pretty good.'”

For Cessar, it was validation.

She finally felt like a water polo player.

“It was one of the best feelings,” Cessar said.

“It's been a great experience,” Cessar added. “The team is awesome and passionate about the sport. I'm excited about continuing to play.”