Marist water polo defeated La Salle 9-3 and LIU 18-8 on Saturday at the VMI Aquatic Center, extending its win streak to 12 straight games to clinch the MAAC Regular Season Championship.
The Red Foxes got off to a slow start in their first matchup of the day against the La Salle Explorers, who entered the matchup holding a record of 12-5 on the season. The Marist offense, which averaged 14.58 goals per game, was held scoreless in the first period.
Senior goaltender Ines Sanchez made several saves, limiting the damage to only one goal and carrying the Red Foxes into the second period, trailing only one.
The Red Foxes offense was not dormant for long, however, erupting for five unanswered goals in the second period.
Junior attacker Kendell De Beer led the charge with a hat trick in the second period alone. Additional goals from sophomore attacker Viktoria Kiss and senior attacker Lela McCarroll guided Marist into the second half with a 5-1 lead.
Out of the break, La Salle attempted to chip away at the lead with senior attacker Grace Smith and freshman attacker Nadya Azzopardi scoring goals.
A goal from junior Anita Radaelli and De Beer’s fourth goal of the game nullified the Explorers goals and maintained the Red Foxes’ four-goal lead entering the final frame.
The Red Foxes’ defense shut the door in the final frame, dictating the pace and preventing La Salle from scoring a goal and kindling the start of a comeback.
Additional goals from senior utility player Paige Naegle and junior utility player Samantha Bentley put the nail in the coffin, finishing off the game with a final score of 9-3.
Following their impressive win earlier in the day, the Red Foxes faced off against the Long Island University Sharks, who earlier in the day were defeated by Mount St. Mary’s, 12-8.
De Beer set the tone earlier for the Red Foxes, scoring just 30 seconds into the first period.
Despite LIU finding the back of the net late in the period, multiple goals from Naegle and Radaelli put Marist out to a commanding 5-1 lead at the end of the first period.
The Marist offense continued to roll in the second period after Kiss found the back of the cage with 6:32 left in the period. Then, Radaelli scored her second goal of the game, pushing the lead to 7-1 before freshman utility player for the Sharks Elena Grigoriou halted the Marist run, beating Sanchez and cutting the deficit to five goals.
The goal did not deter the Red Foxes, who scored three more goals in the period, highlighted by Naegle, who scored her third goal of the game with only one second remaining, to send the game into halftime with the Red Foxes leading 10-2.
Right out of the gate, the Red Foxes reestablished control over the pace of the game. Sophomore center Elaia Berecibar and freshman Jolanta Szentpali found the back of the cage in the third at 7:32 and 4:40, creating a comfortable double-digit lead.
The Sharks began to find a little offensive momentum in the second half, getting goals from redshirt junior utility player Ashlee Dobell, a penalty shot goal from freshman utility player Esther Prieto and a last-second goal from freshman utility player Olivia Bright with just four seconds remaining in the period.
The newfound success on offense for the Sharks did not translate to the defensive end.
The Red Foxes continued to put pressure on the LIU defense, who allowed a penalty shot goal to DeBeer, her third goal of the game with 2:16 remaining, and a goal from junior attacker Emily Scheerer keeping the Red Foxes double digit lead entering the final period of play.
The fourth period followed an eerily similar pattern to the previous one.
Both teams traded goals, with the Red Foxes getting contributions from Scheerer, senior utility player Makaelee Hansberger, De Beer, and a penalty shot goal from sophomore defender Margherita Pantani.
A few late scores from the Sharks proved ineffective with the Red Foxes firmly maintaining their double-digit lead until the final horn sounded with a final score of 18-8.
The win improved the Red Foxes’ overall record to 24-4 and marked their 12th straight win of the season.
The Red Foxes look to stay hot when they return home on Thursday, against Princeton for their final matchup of the regular season.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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