On a Wednesday night at the McCann Natatorium, Marist Water Polo continued its strong season, beating Iona 14-11 in the first game of MAAC play.
Last weekend, Marist dominated the Convergence Tournament in Pomona, CA, going 4-0 and outscoring its opponents 68-25. Senior utility Paige Naegele continued her great season, scoring nine times over the four games.
Head coach Chris Vidale’s squad entered the game against the Gaels ranked No. 17 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
It was also another strong performance by senior goaltender Ines Sanchez, who recorded 34 saves over the weekend. Sanchez earned her fifth MAAC Player of the Week honor this season for her performance.
The Gaels also attend the Convergence Tournament, though the two MAAC teams did not face off on the West Coast. Iona went 2-2 on the weekend, with wins over Cal Lutheran and La Verne. Iona controlled play against La Verne, winning 19-2, as senior center Sadie Salas scored four goals.
Iona recently traveled to Poughkeepsie, falling to the Red Foxes 12-9 on Feb. 21 in an exhibition match. Marist led the entire game, and Iona continued to try to pull back to within two points after Marist built a comfortable lead. In recent history, Iona has struggled against Marist, winning only one of the team’s last eight matches against the Red Foxes.
The first half of the team’s second matchup on Wednesday night saw Iona flash some of the best play they’ve had all season. While Marist originally got out to a 2-0 lead, thanks to goals by junior utility Samantha Bentley and Naegle, Iona responded with four straight goals to go up 4-2.
To stop the bleeding, Marist needed a goal badly. With just seconds left on the clock, junior attacker Kendell De Beer ripped the ball from her own end of the pool. A desperate shot bounced past the Iona goalkeeper to give Marist a much-needed point as the quarter closed.
Marist tied it quickly, with another goal by De Beer to make it 4-4. The Red Foxes tacked on two more goals to make it 6-4.
Iona added a goal in the last minute to set up another huge buzzer-beater. This time, it was Iona’s Salas scoring in the last second to tie the game going into half.
In the second half, Marist began to take control as Iona’s mistakes caught up with them. They committed two fouls in the final minute of the quarter against Marist, resulting in penalty shots; Marist converted on both.
“I mean, before coming here, we played Iona and we missed two of three penalties, and I mean if we don’t hit those, it’s a 12-11 game, so it’s a very different vibe,” said Vidale.
Before that, Naegele and freshman utility Jolanata Szentpali added goals to give Marist an 8-point lead.
A key part of their second-half surge was the Red Foxes’ defense. They held the Gaels to only one goal, on the back of five saves from Sanchez.
“I mean, the kid, she’s tough as nails, doesn’t show much emotion. We let some bad ones in and just some shot blocks that just got through, [Sanchez] is going to be big shoes to fill, and we’re focused on her being here,” said Vidale.
Sanchez would finish the game with 12 saves.
Marist closed it out in the fourth quarter, as junior attacker EmilyScheerer and Naegle added more goals. A highlight reel-worthy play came in the final minutes as Scheerer fired a ball from right next to the Marist goal. Iona had no one covering the net, so Scheerer scored almost a full pool shot.
Marist will travel to Villanova, PA, over the weekend, where they will face conference foes Mount St. Mary’s and Virginia Military Institute. They will look to build on their strong start to conference play.
Edited, Photo and Graphic by Cara Lacey
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