Marist water polo secured their fourth straight MAAC conference win at home during the team’s senior day Sunday evening in a strong 13-9 win over Iona.
Marist (18-5, 7-2 MAAC) took down Iona (12-14, 5-4 MAAC) for the second time this weekend. The two teams met on Saturday when the Red Foxes won in a 10-9 barnburner.
Sunday’s game was controlled by senior utility Kaylee Brard, who along with Lauren Kwan was honored as part of the team’s senior day. Brard had 55 career goals and 50 career steals entering today.
“I’m most proud of the team playing together more than anything. Yes, it’s senior day for me and Lauren [Kwan], but at the end of the day, we wouldn’t be here without anyone else,” said Brard.
This season, the senior duo has tallied 13 goals between the pair and both recorded goals over Iona on Sunday.
“The fact that they could be here through COVID and in their four years, win a [MAAC] championship, I think they can say they have done a lot with their experience,” said head coach Chris Vidale.
30 seconds into the game, Marist recorded their first goal, which came from sophomore utility Paige Naegle off of a set-up from graduate student utility Shinae Carrington and Kwan.
Iona earned their first goal at the 5:37 mark from graduate utility Mia Tovar. Tovar was found wide open on the left side of the pool, and she tossed it right over sophomore goalie Inés Sanchez’s head into the back right corner.
Brard announced her presence on senior day by getting the Red Foxes their second goal. Her shot snuck right past senior goalie Lilly Morris’ right hand at the 5:03 mark. Fellow senior Kwan made a penalty shot moments later, putting Marist up 3-1.
Marist played strong contain defense consistently throughout the game, causing the Gaels to struggle to find open players and create plays.
“We jumped on them early in this game and were able to attack,” said Vidale. “Today was one of those days where we were mixing up lineups and having fun. There was none of those stressful moments.”
With three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Marist was down a player. Iona Senior Elizabeth Lovat utility found a shot, but it sailed right over the goal. With a little over a minute remaining, freshman center Bella Morquecho had a golden opportunity to score, but her shot was denied by Brard.
Marist continued their strong defensive showing by blocking shots and stealing passes in the second quarter. Marist’s next goal came when Naegle found junior center Ella Baumgarten right in the middle; Baumgarten ripped it right past Morris to extend the Marist lead to 4-1.
The Gaels answered almost immediately, finding the back of the net on the next play at the 6:18 mark. Penalties continued to accumulate on both sides.
“The only thing you can do is focus on what you can and cannot control,” said Brard. “I can’t control what the refs are going to do, but I can control my attitude and I can control how I go about doing everything else in the pool.”
Out of a timeout late in the half, sophomore center Sadie Sallas took a deep shot from the five meter line; the ball took a hard bounce, making its way past Sanchez. Ten seconds later, senior utility Kaya Hart found the back of the net. Iona continued their run playing a man up with two minutes left in the half, and Hart scored another.
With 12 seconds left in the first half, Marist closed out the half with a goal from junior utility Victoria Padilla. Padilla’s shot just squeezed past senior goalie Lilly Morris, and the Red Foxes went into the half with a 6-5 lead.
Brard continued to make her mark by adding another blocked shot to the stat sheet to start the third quarter.
At the 5:50 mark, Marist went man up; Naegle subsequently found junior attack Liana Hunt open across the pool, and Hunt buried her shot into the top of the goal to put Marist up by two.
The Gaels’ offense continued to try and get back into the game, but Sánchez made stop after stop. Marist extended their lead to three with a goal from freshman utility Samantha Bentley. After an Iona timeout, Sallas got the Gaels back on the scoreboard.
Marist’s dominance continued in the fourth. Freshman attack Kendall De Beer extended the Marist lead to 10-6 with 5:47 remaining with a shot that bounced right off Morris’ shoulder.
Iona scored three goals in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough. Marist ended up winning the game 13-9. The team will now look towards the MAAC Championships in two weeks.
“I think last year’s [semifinal], we were a little scared, played a little frightened and out of character,” said Vidale. “But this year I think that we just know that we are better than what the product was the last time. The score will take care of itself, how we treat each other and take care of each other is the most important thing to me.”
Marist’s first game during the MAAC Championships has not been announced yet, but the team will close out the regular season in first place in the blue division. The MAAC Championships will take place in Poughkeepsie and the Red Foxes’ home pool the weekend of April 26.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo from Kira Crutcher
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.
