May 9, 2008
STANFORD, CALIF. - The Marist women's water polo team hung with second-seed Stanford for much of the first half on Friday afternoon at the Avery Aquatic Center, but the Cardinal proved to be too much for the Red Foxes to handle. Stanford defeated Marist 12-1 in the first round of the NCAA Water Polo Championships, as sophomore Samantha Swartz (Harleysville, Pa.) scored the Red Foxes' lone goal. Senior goalie Elizabeth Davis (Albuquerque, N.M.) made nine saves in the game.
"I am proud of my team and our effort today against the second-best team in the country," said head coach Ashleigh Jacobs following Friday's game. "It would have been a different game if we could have gotten on the board early and, unfortunately, we didn't do that."
Both Davis and Stanford goalie Amber Oland kept the game close in the first quarter, combining for nine saves. Marist held possession for a majority of the quarter, but its shots came either off the posts or off of Oland. The Cardinal scored the first goal of the game with 1:50 to go in the opening quarter when Heather West rippled the back of the net to give Stanford the early lead.
Marist kept it close for much of the second quarter, with Davis making three saves to keep the Red Foxes in the game. Stanford tallied their second goal of the game with 4:07 left in the first half when Lauren Silver scored. The Cardinal added two more goals near the end of the quarter to give Stanford a 4-0 halftime lead.
From then on, it was all Cardinal. Stanford scored four goals in the third and fourth quarters to take a 12-0 lead. Marist finally scored with 50 seconds left in the game when Swartz scored on a two-on-one situation.
Junior Katelin McCahill (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) led Marist with eight shots on goal, with sophomore Hilary Schroeder (Santa Barbara, Calif.) adding four shots. Swartz, Angie Rampton (Simi Valley, Calif.), and Rosie Pauli (Sacramento, Calif.) each had three shots in the game.
Marist will continue play at the 2008 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships on Saturday in the consolation bracket. The Red Foxes will take on the loser of the USC/Michigan game tomorrow at 3:30 EDT.
