POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK – The Marist water polo team (20-14, 11-1 MAAC) was defeated 10-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Water Polo Championship Final by the Wagner Seahawks (25-8, 10-2 MAAC) on Sunday afternoon.
Four seniors scored all of the goals for the Red Foxes in the title game loss. Senior captain Anna-Lena Hathaway (Pasadena, California) netted three goals. Senior Jessica Hamby (Sacramento, California) scored three goals as well. Senior captain Hannah Levien (Davis, California) and senior Alison Hamby (Sacramento, California) each added one goal.
It was a game of back-and-forth scoring that didn't see a lead of more than three goals for either team. Hathaway scored the first goal of the game on the Red Foxes first possession giving them an early 1-0 lead. Wagner got two goals from Jess Lundgren and Lily Doerfler just 11 seconds apart grabbing its first lead of the game at the 6:39 mark. The Seahawks got a goal four minutes later gaining a two goal lead. In the final 30 seconds of the first quarter Jessica Hamby and Levien scored a goal each knotting the game at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Wagner scored two goals in the second quarter, and its defense held the Red Foxes scoreless taking a 5-3 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter Wagner scored within the first minute gaining a 6-3 advantage. Hathaway and Jessica Hamby scored the next two goals bringing the Red Foxes back within one with 2:48 left in the quarter. The Seahawks scored 13 seconds later reestablishing their two goal lead. Alison Hamby grabbed a goal with 19 seconds left in the quarter bringing the score to 7-6 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Wagner struck first in the fourth quarter with a goal at the 6:48 mark to make it an 8-6 game. Just over a minute later Jessica Hamby scored her third goal of the game bringing the deficit back to one. The Seahawks scored the next goal with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Hathaway notched her third goal of the game at the 2:23 mark bringing the Red Foxes back within one goal at 9-8. Marist battled hard in the final minutes of the game but failed to score another goal as Wagner got one more ending the game at 10-8.
Junior goalie Skyler Henry (San Diego, California) made 10 saves and gave up 10 goals against.
After the conclusion of the tournament, Henry and Jessica Hamby were both named to the MAAC All-Tournament team for their performances over the weekend.
