MANOA, Hawaii -- The Marist water polo team opens the 2018 season at the Rainbow Invite hosted by the University of Hawaii on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Red Foxes officially begin their season on Saturday when they play the #22 Loyola Marymount University Lions at 3:30 PM, followed by the #4 University of California Berkley Golden Bears at 9:30 PM. Marist then wraps up the tournament on Sunday when it plays the #6 University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine at 3:15 PM. 

A LOOK BACK AT 2017:

The Red Foxes are coming off a 2017 season that finished with a 20-14 (11-3 MAAC) record, the program's best overall record since 2013. Marist also appeared in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament for the 14^thconsecutive year and advanced to the Championship game for the fourth straight season.

WHAT'S COMING BACK:

Fourteen players from last season's team return in 2018, including last year's third and fourth leading goal scorers in junior Grace Doerfler (40) and sophomore Justine Castro (31), the most steals and second most assists in 2017 in senior co-captain Diana Carballo and all three goalies (senior Jessica Hermosillo, junior Hope Vickers and sophomore Carsen Horvatich) from last season who combined for 243 saves to go along with 10 assists and 26 steals. 

WELCOME THE NEWBIES:

The team added five newcomers in four freshmen (Lauren Smith, Aminadi Anorve, Katelin Harris & Isabella Vucurevic) and one sophomore (Megan Clarke) that bring multiple Junior Olympic Top 10 finishes along with a CIF Division 3 Champion and multiple CIF First and Second Team selections. 

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST:

For the first time since 2011, the Red Foxes were recognized as one of the Top 25 programs in the country heading into the year when they were ranked #23 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Women's Varsity Preseason Poll. Marist then remained at #23 when the CWPA released its Week 1 Poll this past Monday.

MAAC PRESEASON RECOGNITION:

The Red Foxes were picked to finish second in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll and junior Grace Doerfler was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team as well. Doerfler finished the 2017 season with 42 goals, three assists, 45 points, a team high 40 drawn kick outs and nine steals. 

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

LMU comes into the tournament ranked #22 in the CWPA Week 1 Poll and are coming off a 2017 season that saw them go 15-15 (5-2 Golden Coast Conference) which was good for third place. The Lions return 16 players from last year, including junior driver Hana Vilanova who was second on the team with 129 shots, 48 goals and 64 points in 2017. Also returning is junior defender Morgan Molloy who finished last season first on the team with 39 drawn kick outs and second with 98 shots and 33 goals and junior goalie Sky Flores who played just over 620 minutes in 2017 and finished with an 11-6 record with 155 saves and 101 goals against for a .605 save percentage and a 5.20 goals against average.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS:

Cal comes into the weekend ranked #4 in the CWPA Week 1 Poll and are coming off a 2017 season that saw them finish with a 16-10 (2-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) record, finishing in fourth place in the MPSF before advancing to the NCAA Tournament semi-finals. Returning for the Golden Bears are senior attacker Dora Antal who led the team with 53 goals last season, sophomore attacker Emma Wright who was tied for second on the team with 40 goals in 2017 and junior goalie Madison Tagg who played 204 minutes last season and finished with 43 saves and 46 goals against for a 4.18 goals against average. 

SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE:

Hawaii begins the season ranked #6 in the CWPA Week 1 Poll and are coming off a 2017 in which they finished with a 15-11 (4-1 Big West) record and finished in third place in the Big West. The Rainbow Wahine return redshirt senior utility Chloe Barr who led the team with 45 goals in 2017, junior attacker Irene Gonzalez who was second with 40 goals last season and senior goalie Ymane Hage who played 658 minutes in 2017 and finished with 160 saves and 155 goals for a 7.52 goals against average. 

HOW TO FOLLOW: 

Live stats for all three matches will be available (vs LMU), (vs Cal) (vs Hawaii). Fans can also follow @MaristWP on Twitter for in game updates. 

UP NEXT:

Following the Rainbow Invite, Marist returns to action next weekend in Ann Arbor, MI at the Michgian Invite against #3 UCLA (Sat noon), #14 Hartwick College (Sat 5:15 PM) and #8 University of Michigan (Sunday 11:30 PM).