Bloomington, Ind. – The Marist water polo team claimed its first victory of the season, as the Red Foxes posted a 9-8 win over #9 Indiana on the last day of the Indiana Kick Off. It is the highest-ranked opponent Marist water polo has defeated in program history.
Marist fell behind early, but led after the first quarter with a score of 3-2 behind goals from senior Jessica Hamby (Sacramento, Calif.), senior captain Hannah Levien (Davis, Calif.), and sophomore Amanda Amorosa (Montreal, QC). The Red Foxes had a productive second quarter getting four goals from four different players. Freshman Diana Carballo (Mexico City, Mexico), senior Alison Hamby (Sacramento, Calif), Anna-Lena Hathaway (South Pasadena, Calif.), and Levien each tallied a goal in the second quarter to put Marist up 7-4 heading into halftime.
Indiana went with a goalie change to begin the second half, but it wasn't enough to keep Marist from securing the first victory of the 2015 season. Alison Hamby was the only member of the team to net a goal in a tight third quarter ending at 8-6. Marist got a huge defensive stop in the fourth quarter when senior captain Anna-Lena Hathaway stopped a penalty shot after junior goalie Skyler Henry (San Diego, Calif.) was ejected and a penalty shot called. Hathaway blocked the shot with one hand to keep Marist in the lead. Hathaway then scored the only goal in the fourth quarter for the Red Foxes to make the final score 9-8.
Three different players, Levien, A. Hamby, and Hathaway led the Red Foxes in scoring with two goals apiece. Sophomore Jocelyn McQuade (Vancouver, BC) aided the Red Foxes with a team high two assists. Anna-Lena Hathaway grabbed the only field block of the day, and Jessica Hamby had a team-high three ejections drawn. Also contributing for Marist, sophomore Nastassia McGlothlin (Mission Viejo, Calif.) had one assist and one steal.
Goalie Skyler Henry made 15 saves on the day while giving up eight goals against. Henry contributed four steals and one assist in Sunday's win.
The Red Foxes capitalized on three six-on-five opportunities finishing three-for-five, netting goals in the first, second, and fourth quarters.
The Marist Water Polo team will see its first home action of the season as they welcome Brown University to the McCann Natatorium on Sunday, Feb. 1.
