LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Marist water polo team split a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) games on Saturday, falling to Iona 12-10 before coming back and defeating the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) 17-5. Both games were played at Siena.
In the earlier game versus Iona, Robyn Crabtree (Cutler Bay, Fla.) led the offense with three goals. Jessica Hamby (Sacramento, Calif.) and Kelly Kline (Reading, Pa.) each scored twice and had to steals. Kline also added an assist and two field blocks while Hamby drew four ejections. Jaclyn Puccino (San Diego, Calif.) also scored and had four assists. Rebecca Thomas (Cape Town, South Africa) made nine saves and added two steals in the Marist net.
The Red Foxes (14-18, 6-2) trailed 4-2 after the first quarter but closed to within one at 8-7 after three.
Against VMI, six players scored at least two goals, led by three each by Yuriria Chavez (Chicago, Ill.) and Alison Hamby (Sacramento, Calif.). Kathryn Knutson (Oakland, Calif.), Jessica Hamby, Mackenzie Maynes (Newcastle, Wash.) and Hannah Levien (Davis, Calif.) all found the back of the net twice as well. Natalie Stringer (San Diego, Calif.) had four assists, Shelby Rinker (Lansdale, Pa.) had three and Maynes and Levien each had two helpers as well. Elise Humphries (Anaheim, Calif.) made nine saves in goal and added an assist.
Leading 6-1 after the first quarter, Marist extended their lead to a comfortable 11-3 at halftime before coasting through the second half.
The Red Foxes are back in action with four games next weekend at Villanova. They will play St. Francis (Pa.) and Wagner on Saturday before taking on Villanova and Siena on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. Marist will host the MAAC Tournament on April 28 and 29, with the top four teams qualifying.
