Score SheetStaten Island, NY – The #19 Wagner (21-8, 8-2) women's water polo downed VMI (9-14, 3-6) 23-8 before falling to Marist (19-12, 11-1) by a score of 11-9.
With the loss Marist has clinched the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship as the Seahawks can finish no better than 10-2 in league play as Marist has completed their MAAC regular season at 11-1.
VMI (
Score Sheet)
The Seahawks opened the game on a 7-0 run which began with a
Lily Doerfler (Annapolis, MD/ Broadneck) strike off an assist from lefty-specialist and reigning MAAC Offensive Player of the Week
Megan Rodriguez (Danville, CA/ San Ramon Valley). Rodriguez responded with an unassisted tally of her own which was followed by a second Doerfler score. Junior center
Jess Lundgren (Queensland, Australia/ Mountain Creek) found the back of the net three times in the run highlighted by two separate five meter penalty scores.
Alexey Chandler (Sacramento, CA/ Saint Francis) registered a goal in the run as well.
VMI responded with two scores of their own before Lundgren ripped her fourth goal of the game off her third five meter penalty shot. Wagner led 8-2 at the completion of the first stanza.
The Seahawks outscored the Keydeys 6-2 in the second period led by a hat trick from senior co-captain
Jessica Burdge (Stockton, CA/ St. Mary's). Fellow senior co-captain
Rachel Burns (Auckland, New Zealand/ Diocesan), Doerfler, and Rodriguez all tallied in the quarter as well to give the Green & White a 14-4 advantage at halftime.
Wagner added nine goals in the second half to seal the victory as senior
Michelle Greenough (Davis, CA/ Davis) tallied twice in the half. Freshman
Kimberly Watson (Pointe-Claire, Quebec/ John Rennie),
Elise Begg (Newbury Park, CA/ Newbury) and sophomore
Gabryel Oloapu (Auckland, New Zealand/ Diocesan) all entered the scoring column in the half. Doerfler, Lundgren, Burns, and Chandler all struck the back of the net for single scores to bring the final to 23-8.
Sophomore goalie
Emily Riddle (Edmonton, Alberta/ Dr. E.P. Scarlett) was strong in net as she registered seven saves.
Marist (
Score Sheet)
Marist jumped on the Seahawks early with a barrage of quick strikes to take a 3-0 lead before three and half minutes had been played. Wagner responded accordingly scoring three of the next four goals of the quarter to cut the deficit to one as the score read 4-3 at the end of the first stanza. Burdge, Burns, and Begg tallied scores for the Green & White in the opening period.
Play in the second quarter slowed as both teams struggled to find scoring chances. Marist was able to find the back of the net twice and looked to be heading into the locker room with a 6-3 lead however Wagner scored just before halftime. Watson received a pass from Burns and rattled the cage with only four seconds left in the first half to being the score to 6-4.
The Red Foxes grabbed momentum in the third period as they outscored Wagner 3-1 in the quarter to stretch their lead to four. The Seahawks lone goal in the stanza came on an even strength opportunity off a strike from Doerfler.
The Green & White battled back in the fourth and final quarter as they netted three of the first four goals of the period to bring the score to 10-8 with 2:41 remaining in the game. Burdge, Doerfler, and Lundgren all delivered scores for Wagner to surge the comeback effort. Marist responded quickly tallying a goal less than 35 seconds later effectively ending the Seahawks comeback bid. Burdge struck the back of the net with 55 seconds left before Marist ran off the remaining time to claim the 11-9 victory.
The Seahawks are back in action tomorrow, Sunday, April 12 as they host Iona at 12:00 p.m. and St. Francis Brooklyn at 5:30 p.m. which will serve as the teams senior game.
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