LOS ANGELES, California - The Marist water polo team defeated #23 Salem University 9-8 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. 
 

WHAT A GAME!!!!!!!

The Red Foxes come from behind and win on a penalty shot from Myriam Lizotte with 6? seconds left in the game!!!!!!

WE'RE MOVIN' ON!!!!! #GoRedFoxes #NCAAWP pic.twitter.com/lTInILlRlP

— Marist Water Polo (@MaristWP) May 12, 2021

The Red Foxes opened up play at the Spieker Aquatics Center with two quick goals, but the Tigers were able to regain momentum and would lead throughout the majority of the game. Salem had an 8-7 lead with under a minute to go in the contest, but Sawyer Alter connected with India Alter who found the back of the net to tie the game at eight with 50 seconds left on the clock. Then, with six seconds left in regulation, Marist received a penalty shot, and Myriam Lizotte converted to advance the Red Foxes into the next round. 
 

MYRIAM LIZOTTE A PENALTY SHOT FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE'RE MOVING ON!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/5Wue5yrQ9F

— Marist Water Polo (@MaristWP) May 12, 2021

 

SUMMARY

• India Alter scored the first goal of the game just 42 seconds into the game giving the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead. Alter would score again just under a minute later to extend that lead to 2-0. 
• Salem rattled off two goals in the latter half of the first period to tie the game heading into the second quarter. 
• Erin Zappia scored the first goal of the second quarter for the Tigers, giving them their first lead of the game at 3-2. 
• Salem outscored the Red Foxes 2-1 the rest of the half and took a 5-3 lead into halftime. 
• India Alter scored her third goal of the game just over a minute into the second half, and two minutes later Justine Castro scored her first goal of the game to tie the score at 5-5. 
• Viktoria Orlova gave Marist a brief lead with her second goal of the game at the 3:15 mark of the third quarter, but Margheritta Garibbo evened up the score at six with a goal for Salem. That score held throughout the rest of the period and the two teams were tied heading into the final quarter. 
• After a five minute stalemate to begin the fourth, Garibbo broke through with a goal for Salem which gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead. 
• Lizotte fired from the outside and scored with three minutes left in the game and tied the game at seven. However, Chloe Woodpine answered for Salem and re-gave the Tigers the lead with just 1:23 left on the clock. 
• Sawyer Alter set up India Alter with a beautiful pass and India found the back of the net to tie the game at eight with just 50 seconds left in regulation. 
• With six seconds left, Salem called a timeout but the Tigers didn't have full possession of the ball. Marist was awarded a penalty shot, and Lizotte converted to propel Marist to a 9-8 victory. 

The Red Foxes advance!

Check out some ?? from @MaristWP's first NCAA Tournament victory in over 10 years ??????#GoRedFoxes pic.twitter.com/Kd1SENQ0g7

— Marist Athletics (@MaristAthletics) May 12, 2021

 

KEY STATS

• India Alter led Marist with a game-high five goals.
• Orlova and Lizotte each had four points in the game.
• Goalkeeper Marina Hyham had eight saves on the day, including some full-extension diving saves down the stretch. 
• India Alter led the team with two drawn exclusions and Lizotte had a team-high two steals. 
• Philippa Piper made 17 saves for Salem. 
• Erin Zappia had three points to lead the Tigers. 
• The Red Foxes were 3-7 on the power play, while Salem was just 1-5. 

 

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NOTES

• This was Head Coach Chris Vidale's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the helm of the Red Foxes, and he is now 1-0. 
• This is the water polo team's first victory in the NCAA Tournament since 2010 when Marist defeated Pomona-Pitzer
• This is the first time in program history that the Marist water polo team won a non-consolation game in NCAA Tournament history. 
• The Red Foxes improve to 9-0 on the season, and remain undefeated. 
• This is the second longest winning streak in program history, with the longest being 12 wins in a row in 2007. 
• It is also the longest Marist has remained undefeated to start a season. 
• The last time Marist beat a ranked opponent was March 7, 2020 when the Red Foxes took down #17 Harvard in overtime. 

 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes advance to take on #1 USC. Game time is set for 3 p.m. ET on Friday at the Spieker Aquatics Center.