Playing in front of a raucous crowd in the McCann Natatorium, Marist water polo came up just short in the MAAC Championship match, losing 9-8 to Wagner.
Wagner came into today’s championship as a dominant force in the MAAC conference for years, and entered play currently ranked 18th in the nation. Wagner’s 13-12 overtime loss to LIU in last year’s MAAC championship match added extra incentive for the Seahawks to emerge victorious today.
The Red Foxes entered today’s match seeking to take home their first MAAC title since 2021. They wasted no time in this endeavor, with junior center Ella Baumgarten sneaking an early goal inside the right post to give Marist a 1-0 lead.
From there, first quarter fireworks ensued, with Wagner senior center Andrea Arias and Marist sophomore utility Paige Naegle each putting their respective offenses on their backs. Arias, who came into the day ranked third in the MAAC with 93 goals, floated a shot in to tie the game at one; a sizable contingent of Wagner fans that made the trip up from Staten Island exploded with applause.
Later in the first quarter, Naegle laced a shot that ricocheted off sophomore goalkeeper Francesca Sena’s hands and into the back of the net, giving Marist a 2-1 lead and sending their fans into a frenzy. Arias then scored again for Wagner by slipping a shot past Marist defenders, knotting the score again.
Wagner threatened to take the lead when senior attacker Mar Navarro launched a promising shot toward goal, but it bounced off the crossbar. Naegle, who entered the day at ninth in the MAAC with 61 goals scored, added another to her ledger as she finessed a shot past Sena; Marist led 3-2 with 3:30 left in the first quarter.
After a foul was called on Wagner, senior utility Kaylee Brard lined up to take a penalty shot for Marist. She succeeded and sent her shot past Sena on the right side, staking Marist out to a two-goal lead with under three minutes left in the quarter.
In the second quarter, after a scoring lull, sophomore attacker Magali Ogg cut into the Marist lead with a goal for Wagner. Junior attacker Carlota Alonso, the MAAC leader in goals scored entering today (109), followed it up with a pair of goals to put the Seahawks in front. Her first score came with just over five minutes remaining in the half, while her second came off a penalty shot on the ensuing possession, giving Wagner a 5-4 lead.
The Seahawks continued to swing the momentum in their favor as Arias secured a hat trick, giving Wagner a 6-4 lead and prompting a timeout from Marist. Wagner’s defense continued to hold up strong, with a litany of blocked shots and a dominant stretch from the goalkeeper Sena keeping Marist off the board for the duration of the quarter.
After the halftime break, Naegle clutched up once again for Marist by notching a hat trick of her own. Her goal from the left side ended Marist’s quarter-and-a-half-long scoring drought and trimmed the Wagner lead to 6-5.
“Paige is a strong kid and she’s a sophomore. She’s maturing, and when she comes back [next season], she’ll be even more mature,” said Marist head coach Chris Vidale.
The energy in the McCann Nataroium escalated moments later when graduate student utility Shinae Carrington buried a goal from long range to tie the match at six. Marist goaltender Inés Sánchez kept the match tied on the other end with an emphatic block that riled up the Marist bench.
With mere seconds remaining in the third quarter, Alonso scored her third of the day to put Wagner back in front by one with eight minutes left to play.
With everything on the line in the fourth quarter, Alonso lined up for another penalty shot. She buried this one too, providing the Seahawks with a two-goal cushion as they closed in on a MAAC title.
Sánchez momentarily kept Marist’s hopes alive with another clutch block around the six-minute mark, yet Wagner reestablished possession, leading to a backbreaking goal from senior utility Grace Coleman to put the Seahawks up 9-6 with five minutes left.
“Sometimes moments are too big for us, and I think for a couple people, the moment was just a little too big, and it showed in some uncharacteristic play, ” said Vidale.
The Red Foxes did not go down without a fight. Carrington charged up the right side and flicked in her second goal of the day, making it 9-7 with over three minutes remaining. Carrington buried another shot with just 11 seconds remaining to earn a hat trick.
“[Shinae] has been here for five years now. Our relationship is completely different; she’s like a best friend, little sister, family, all those things wrapped up into just a wonderful human being, athlete. The kid played hard, she sat for maybe 30 seconds, so I couldn’t ask more out of her,” said Vidale.
Carrington’s heroics were, however, too little too late for Marist, as the Seahawks hung on to emerge as conference champions for the eighth time in 11 seasons. Despite the loss, Vidale candidly expressed his view that this result marked substantial progress for the program he has helmed for the past eight season.
“If you were here three years ago, we were f****** broken. The culture sucked, and I learned that the hard way. I lost people, and I was [a tough pill to swallow], and a big part of it was my fault,” said Vidale. “The next year, we focused on culture, everything has been about culture, and that’s what matters the most, so we’re in a good place.”
For Wagner, their season will continue as they advance to the NCAA tournament.
Edited by Sam Murphy
Photo from Kira Crutcher
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