Marist water polo swept day two of the VMI MAAC showcase with improvements to their offensive transitions and strong defensive pushes, defeating LIU 13-12 in the morning and La Salle University 12-11 in the afternoon.
The day started for the Red Foxes with a narrow victory against the Sharks that saw the two teams exchange leads throughout the four periods of play.
In both matchups, senior attack Rachel Dean won every sprint for Marist, giving the Red Foxes time to strike on their first possession.
Marist’s first offensive attempt against LIU resulted in an immediate goal from senior utility Victoria Padilla. 30 seconds later, Dean set up another goal for the Red Foxes, this time finding senior center Ella Baumgarten for her first of the day.
The first period continued in back and forth fashion with graduate student Elena Camarena taking control for the Sharks. Camarena got them on the board at the 6:38 mark and then set up junior Samantha Boothe for the equalizer shortly thereafter.
Both teams ended the first with one more goal and headed into the second tied 3-3.
The second period was eerily similar to the first as Dean won the sprint and Padilla beat the goalie for the Red Foxes first goal of the period. Then, Baumgarten followed with a goal to give Marist a two goal lead. LIU answered in similar fashion with Boothe finding the net for her second, cutting the lead to one.
Both teams ended the game with double digit exclusions; Marist had 15 and LIU had 10. Sophomore utility player Samantha Bentley had a stand out performance for the Red Foxes, forcing turnovers and finding space to set up an offense. She ended with a goal, an assist, three exclusions and a steal in the game against LIU.
Junior attack Lela McCarroll also stood out for the Red Foxes, ending the matchup with a hat trick that helped send LIU home with their first conference loss.
Marist opened their second game of the day against La Salle at 12:30 and continued to display their ability to set up a transition offense.
A minute into play, Baumgarten found the back of the net for the Red Foxes during a power play that secured an early lead. Throughout the game, Marist transitioned with the ball and got their offense set up on the La Salle side of the pool, something that they struggled with yesterday against Wagner. The Red Foxes also showed a high pressure defense that played tight and forced La Salle to spread, not being able to enter the center of the five meter.
In the second period, Marist drew a penalty and elected to have sophomore attacker Kendell De Beer take the shot. De Beer bounced it straight past sophomore goalie Lily Kirby, putting Marist in the lead 3-2.
On the Marist defensive end, junior goalie Ines Sanchez stood strong all day. She tallied 14 saves in the win against La Salle and nine in the win over LIU.
Meanwhile, sophomore attack Martina Bonet Saez and senior attack Francesca Co’ took control on offense for the Explorers. Bonnet Saez ended the game with a hat trick while Co’, La Salle’s all-time points leader, ended with nine shots, three goals and one assist.
With 25 seconds left in the second, junior attacker Ella Tice got called on an exclusion for La Salle. Marist, with a man up, passed around the key and used the shot clock, ultimately finding Padilla who fired a shot off the post and in with two seconds left. Padilla’s goal made the score 7-4.
Marist began the third with an almost immediate power play and found Dean on the right side of the goal to secure the first goal of the third. The Red Foxes maintained a two goal lead throughout the rest of play; they answered the Explorers immediately after they brought it back to a one point game.
Eight different players scored during the game for the Red Foxes. They tallied 32 shots and converted on two out of five power plays to end the VMI MAAC Showcase with a 2-1 record.
Next, Marist will travel back to California for a non-conference matchup against Biola University on Tuesday, March 18 at 10:30 p.m.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Cara Lacey
Photo from Marist Athletics
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