ANN ARBOR, Michigan – Despite being outshot by only five shots total in two games on the day, the #24 Marist water polo team dropped its opening two games at the Michigan Invite with 18-8 and 12-9 losses to the #4 UCLA Bruins and #13 Hartwick Hawks respectively.

The Red Foxes now stand at 0-5 but four of the five defeats have come to teams ranked in the Top 13 in the country.
 
SUMMARY vs #4 UCLA:

The Bruins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a power play and even strength goal, before the Red Foxes had a chance to halve the deficit with just under five minutes left on a penalty shot. However, the attempt was saved to keep the score the same. Following the chance, UCLA scored three more goals in the opening quarter and led 5-0 after eight minutes.

Just over a minute into the second period, Marist got on the board when junior co-captain Katherine Tijerina notched her first goal of the season. A little less than a minute later, the Red Foxes trimmed the deficit to just three when sophomore Lexi Puhl fired home her first goal of the season as well. After the Bruins scored another power play goal, junior Susan Cantoni answered with a man advantage goal to bring the score to 6-3 at the 4:43 mark in the first half. UCLA followed up with back-to-back goals to take an 8-3 lead with 2:07 remaining in the quarter, before Tijerina's second goal of the game brought Marist within four at 8-4.

The Bruins opened the second half scoring but sophomore Justine Castro answered with her first goal of the season with 5:38 left to bring the deficit back to four. After back-to-back UCLA goals brought the game to 11-5, freshman Lauren Smith found the back of the net with 2:55 left in the third quarter.

However, the Bruins went on a 7-2 run over the final 10:55 to secure the 18-8 win. Junior Grace Doerfler and senior co-captain Diana Carballo scored for the Red Foxes.

KEY STATS vs #4 UCLA:

• Despite the 10 goal victory, UCLA only out shot Marist 27-24
• The Bruins finished 6-for-8 (.750) on the power play, while the Red Foxes finished 2-for-8 (.250)
• UCLA forced 8 turnovers, while the Red Foxes forced 7

GAME NOTES vs #4 UCLA:

• Senior goalie Jessica Hermosillo tied a season high with 6 saves (1/21 vs LMU)
• Tijerina finished with a team high 2 goals
• Carballo finished with one goal, one assist and a team high two steals

SUMMARY vs #13 HARTWICK:

After more than five minutes of stanch defensive play, the Hawks opened the scoring at the 2:21 mark. The Red Foxes answered 39 seconds later when Hermosillo connected with Tijerina who found the back of the net to even the score. Just under a minute later, Hartwick regained the lead on a goal with 41 seconds left in the opening frame but again Marist answered, this time on a goal by junior Ariana Singer with five seconds left and the teams entered the second quarter tied at 2-2.

Continuing with the back-and-forth trend, the Hawks again took the lead just 16 seconds in. A little more than a minute later, the Red Foxes answered on Tijerina's second of the game, evening the score at 3-3. Roughly three minutes later, Marist took its first lead of the game when sophomore Lexi Puhl found Doerfler for the 4-3 advantage but a little less than a minute later, Hartwick tied things up at 4-4. Sophomore Anais Mathes gave the Red Foxes back the lead at 5-4 off an assist from Cantoni with 1:46 left in the first half and the final 106 seconds proved to be a defensive battle that kept Marist ahead 5-4 entering the half.

The Hawks tied things up at 5-5 just over three minutes into the third quarter on a power play goal and then took the lead 20 seconds later on an even strength score. After a penalty shot gave Hartwick the 7-5 lead with 3:37 left in the third, Singer's second goal of the game brought the Red Foxes back within one 47 seconds later. After neither team scored in the final 2:25 of the period, the two teams entered the final eight minutes of play with the Hawks ahead 7-6.

Roughly 90 seconds into the fourth, Hartwick regained the two goal lead on an even strength score but Marist answered on its ensuing possession when Carballo fired the ball home to trim the deficit back to one. The Hawks answered with back-to-back-to-back power play goals over the next 2:57 to take a four goal lead at 11-7, before the Red Foxes brought the score to 11-9 with a power play goal from Tijerina and an even strength score by Doerfler. After a Hartwick turnover with 1:03 left in the game, Marist called timeout.  However, the comeback was not to be had as the Hawks defense shut them down and a fourth man up goal of the period by Hartwick with five seconds left sealed the 12-9 Hawks' win.

KEY STATS vs #13 HARTWICK:

• Hartwick out shot the Red Foxes 26-24
• The Hawks finished 6-for-11 (.545) on the power play, while Marist finished 2-for-12 (.167)
• Hartwick finished with a .462 shooting percentage with the Red Foxes shooting .375
• The Hawks forced 16 turnovers, while Marist forced 14

GAME NOTES vs #13 HARTWICK:

• Tijerina finished with a team high 3 goals and 3 steals
• Carballo finished with a team high 2 assists

QUOTE:

"This team is right there competing with the best in the country" said head coach Chris Vidale. "It doesn't always come down to wins and loses though and we are building a culture here that will last. A place where recruits will want to come and play, where my current athletes will thrive and achieve their goals and where athletes understand that there is so much more to this game than wins and loses. My team has a lot of heart and fight and we are just scratching the surface of what we are truly capable of doing."

UP NEXT:

The Red Foxes wrap up play at the Michigan Invite against the host #8 University of Michigan Wolverines on Sunday at 11:30 AM.