Marist water polo continued its strong start to the season, sweeping its first two home games by defeating Iona, 12-9, and Salem, 16-8.
Last weekend, the Red Foxes had a strong showing at the Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, going 3-1 with their only loss coming to the No. 16-ranked San Jose State Spartans. This performance launched Marist up to the No. 17 spot in the Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings.
The wins last weekend were spearheaded by a great performance from senior goaltender Ines Sanchez, who saved 27 of 44 shots, earning her the award for MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. They were also helped by junior attacker, Kendall De Beer, who scored 14 goals over the four games.
De Beer was born in South Africa, while Sanchez is from Spain, which is reflected in the McCann Natatorium, as the flags of all the different nations the players come from are represented. Alongside the Spanish and South African flags hang the flags of New Zealand, Italy and Hungary.
The first game for Marist marked their first MAAC game, as they took on the Iona Gaels. Last season, the two split their two games, but before that, Marist dominated the Gaels in the previous two seasons, winning all four games from 2023-24. Iona came into the game 3-8 and was outscored last weekend 13-30; they were picked to finish fifth of nine in the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, while Marist was picked to come in second, trailing back-to-back champion Wagner.
Sanchez continued her solid play, holding the Gaels to nine points and only allowing four goals in the first half. The game was back and forth in the first quarter, as with three and a half minutes left, Iona scored to go up 3-2. Marist responded by scoring twice in the last few minutes to take a 4-3 lead.
In the second, Marist took control and never looked back. An early quarter goal by senior attacker Lela McCarroll put the Red Foxes up 5-3. The two teams exchanged goals to put the game at 6-4 in the final seconds of the quarter, where McCarroll heaved a shot from her own half and scored with no time on the clock to make the score 7-4.
During the first Marist possession of the second half, senior utility Paige Naegle scored her second goal of the game. Iona responded with a few goals of their own to make it 8-7, before another Marist score cushioned the lead. In the middle of the quarter, Naegle scored again to give herself a hat-trick, and Marist a 10-7 lead.
The Gaels stuck around for a while, but were soundly outplayed by the Red Foxes, and never got the game too close in the fourth. They only scored once in the quarter, as the game ended in a solid 12-9 win for Marist.
After Iona played Marist, they faced off against Marist’s later opponent, Salem. The Gaels won 13-11, pushing them to a 4-9 record, and dropping Salem to 3-3 on the year after they had won their last two.
Marist has a good track record against Salem; they have played them five of the last six years, going back to 2021, and have won all five matchups.
Before the start of the second game, Marist honored five players for senior night. The seniors included Sanchez, McCarrol, Naegle, utility Makaelee Hansberger, and goaltender Zoë Seaboch. All players were announced and escorted by family, getting congratulations from teammates and coaches.
Seaboch started in goal for the first quarter in place of Sanchez. The Red Foxes got out to an early lead, as. McCarroll scored the first goal quickly, bringing her total on the day to three goals.
Preseason All-Conference junior utility Anita Radaelli had a good day for herself. She scored a goal in the first game and had a goal in the first quarter and an assist on another Naegle goal. Marist led 4-2 at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, Sanchez took her spot in the net. She came out of the gate hot as she deflected two Salem shots on their second possession. The Red Foxes built on the lead, holding Salem to one goal, and adding four more, one more scored by Naegle, to go up 7-4.
Marist controlled it the rest of the way, adding six more goals in the third. One of the highlights of the day came towards the end of the quarter, after the Red Foxes were awarded a penalty. Sanchez came out of her goal, took the shot, and scored. This was met with an eruption from the crowd and her teammates.
Marist now jumps to 11-3 on the season, and 1-0 in MAAC play. Next weekend, Marist travels to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to play No.7 Harvard and rematch against No. 21 Wagner, whom they beat 14-7 in their second game of the year.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic and photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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