LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA – The Marist water polo team (13-12, 5-1 MAAC) split a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games on Saturday afternoon. The Red Foxes lost the first game to No. 14 Wagner (16-7, 3-1 MAAC) 15-9 before taking down VMI (7-11, 1-4 MAAC) 17-11 in game two.
Game One: No. 14 Wagner 15, Marist 9
Sophomore Amanda Amorosa (Montreal, Quebec) scored a team-high three goals with a staggering .750 shot percentage. Senior Jessica Hamby (Sacramento, California) added two goals and an assist. Senior captain Hannah Levien (Davis, California), senior Alison Hamby (Sacramento, California), and sophomores Nastassia McGlothlin (Mission Viejo, California) and Jocelyn McQuade (Vancouver, British Columbia) scored one goal apiece.
The Red Foxes got out to an early lead with a goal just 1:15 into the game by J. Hamby. Wagner scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead. 15 seconds after Wagner scored its second goal McGlothlin found the back of the net to tie the game up at two all. The Seahawks got the next goal to regain a one goal lead, but two goals by Amorosa would end the first quarter with the Red Foxes up 4-3. Wagner scored the next four goals to retake the lead at 7-4. Amorosa and McQuade would grab goals in the waning minutes of the second quarter to cut the Wagner lead to 7-6 at halftime.
The third quarter saw Wagner net five goals to Marist's one. J. Hamby scored the only goal for the Red Foxes in the third quarter. Down 12-7 in the fourth quarter Levien and A. Hamby were the only two to find the back of the net, as the Seahawks scored three more goals to end the game at 15-9.
Junior goalie Skyler Henry (San Diego, California) made seven saves and gave up 15 goals against in the loss for Marist.
Game Two: Marist 17, VMI 11
Amorosa continued her impressive offensive performance netting a career-high seven goals and two assists in the win over Virginia Military Institute. Levien contributed four goals and one assist for the Red Foxes. A. Hamby added two goals, while J. Hamby, McGlothlin,senior captain Anna-Lena Hathaway (South Pasadena, California) and junior captain Brooke Else (Lansdale, Pennsylvania) each added one goal.
Marist jumped out to an early two goal lead, thanks to Hathaway and A. Hamby, and never looked back. VMI scored the next goal to pull within one, but goals from Levien and Amorosa allowed the Red Foxes to take a 4-2 lead into the second quarter. The Red Foxes had an offensive explosion in the second quarter scoring seven goals to VMI's three. Levien and Amorosa each had two goals in the second quarter. Marist went into halftime with an 11-5 lead.
VMI scored the first two goals of the third quarter 61 seconds apart to pull the score within four. This was the closest the Keydets would get for the remainder of the game. Amorosa scored two goals and J. Hamby one in the final 3:28 of the quarter to take a 14-8 lead into the final quarter of play. Levien (1) and Amorosa (2) scored the final three goals for Marist to take the game with a score of 17-11.
Henry gave up 11 goals against in the win for Marist and made three saves.
The Red Foxes return to action on Sunday, March 29 for two MAAC games against Villanova and Iona. Game times are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
