April 25, 2009
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Trailing 5-4 at halftime, the Marist water polo team held Wagner to one goal in the second half to win 7-6 in the MAAC Water Polo Championship semifinals Saturday at the McCann Natatorium. The Red Foxes got goals from Rachel Sunday (Carlisle, Pa.) Hilary Schroeder (Santa Barbara, Calif.), and Katelin McCahill (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) in the second half to advance to Sunday's championship game.
Marist (17-13) got on the board first, as Sunday scored her first goal of the game with 6:51 remaining in the opening quarter. Wagner (16-13) tied the game 20 seconds later on a Nicole Maichrowicz goal. The Red Foxes put some separation between themselves and the Seahawks and McCahill and Angie Rampton (Simi Valley, Calif.) scored back-to-back to give Marist a 3-1 lead with 3:21 left in the first. Natalie Pyrz got Wagner back within a goal with 2:33 remaining in the quarter, but McCahill scored her second goal of the game 12 seconds later to put Marist ahead 4-2.
Wagner scored the final goal of the first quarter as Sara Olguin found the back of the net to make the score 4-3. The Seahawks rode the momentum of Olguin's goal into the second quarter. Both defenses were stalwart in the second quarter, with neither team scoring for over six minutes. Wagner tied the game at 4-4 with 1:39 remaining in the half as Pyrz scored her second goal of the game. The Seahawks then took the lead with six seconds left in the half on a Chelsea Beck goal.
The third quarter was a defensive battle as goalies Jessica Getchius (Simi Valley, Calif.) of Marist and Kelsey Rodgers of Wagner kept their respective opponents out of the net for a majority of the quarter. The Red Foxes scored the only goal of the quarter, as Sunday found the back of the net for the second time to tie the game at 5-5 with 37 seconds remaining. Sunday gave Marist the lead with 3:56 remaining in the fourth quarter, putting the Red Foxes ahead 6-5. Marist then put the game away as Schroeder tallied her goal with 1:09 left. Wagner added a goal late but it would not be enough.
The Red Foxes will take on Iona tomorrow for the 2009 MAAC Water Polo Championship. The top-seeded Gaels defeated Saint Francis (NY) 11-10 in sudden death overtime in Saturday's first semifinal. Marist defeated Iona to win the MAAC Championship last season. The Red Foxes and Gaels will play at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the McCann Natatorium, with Wagner taking on Saint Francis (NY) in the consolation game at noon. Video streaming of Sunday's games is available at maacsports.com.
