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Poughkeepsie, NY – The #19 Wagner (24-8, 10-2 MAAC) women's water polo team bested Iona (21-15, 7-5 MAAC) 18-12 in the opening Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) semifinal game to advance to tomorrow's final for the fifth consecutive season.

#2 seed Wagner and #3 seed Iona squared off for the third time this season as the Seahawks have now come away victorious in all three matchups.

Iona rushed the opening sprint and won the ball but the advantage was short lived as junior center and recently named 2015 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Jess Lundgren (Queensland, Australia/ Mountain Creek) stole possession and passed ahead to a streaking Kimberly Watson (Pointe-Claire, Quebec/ John Rennie) who found the back of the net just 26 seconds into the contest. The Gaels had an opportunity less than a minute later to even the score on a power play however sophomore goalie and recently named 2015 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Emily Riddle (Edmonton, Alberta/ Dr. E.P. Scarlett) stood big in the cage and had an outstretched diving block.

Junior center Lily Doerfler (Annapolis, MD/ Broadneck) found room around the front of the net as junior attacker Megan Rodriguez (Danville, CA/ San Ramon Valley) delivered a nice pass to set-up a quick strike to put the Seahawks up 2-0 with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter. The Gaels would respond quickly off a nice goal from Taylor Silva. Wagner and Iona exchanged goals as Rodriguez scored on a skip shot followed by an Iona goal from Dana Andrea to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of the Green & White. An Iona foul lead to a beautiful give and go as freshman Elise Begg (Newbury Park, CA. Newbury) found Lundgren who delivered the goal and brought the score to 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Lundgren opened up the second stanza with an unassisted score which was quickly followed by an Iona goal to bring the score to 5-3 with 6:34 remaining in the quarter. Quick striking back and forth offensive from both sides followed for the next two minutes as each team found the back of the net twice. Rodriguez sunk a smooth lefty shot as Begg tallied of an assist from senior co-captain Rachel Burns (Auckland, New Zealand/ Diocesan) as the score read 7-5 in favor of the Seahawks.  Begg's score sparked a 7-0 run for the Green & White which stretched into the third quarter.

In the run, senior co-captain Jessica Burdge (Stockton, CA/ St. Mary's) and Watson delivered goals off quick ball movement from the offense. Begg added two more goals to bring her game total to three as Rodriguez finished twice as well to bring the score to 13-5 with 4:29 remaining in the third period.

The Gaels ended the third period on 3-2 run as they converted on a five meter penalty shot with only 21 seconds left in the third as the scoreboard read 15-8. Wagner's two goals came off an interception from Watson which led to a Lundgren score and a steal from Burdge which was advanced to Watson who found the back of the net.

Iona would outscore the Seahawks 4-3 in the final stanza as Doerfler had two tallies in the quarter and Rodriguez rattled the cage for her fifth of the game to bring the final score to 18-12.

Riddle made some key blocks in the game as she registered seven saves.

With the win the Seahawks advance to tomorrow's MAAC Championship where they will square-off with #1 seed Marist for the fourth time this season. The game will also be a rematch of last season's MAAC Final which saw the Green & White edge Marist.

The final is scheduled to be played at 2:00 p.m. in the McCann Natatorium on the campus of Marist College.

Seahawk Goals
Megan Rodriguez 5
Elise Begg 3
Lily Doerfler 3
Jess Lundgren 3
Kimberly Watson 3
Jessica Burdge 1

Highlights


Head Coach Chris Radmonovich's Post Game Interview


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