Lexington, VA – The Wagner women's water polo team is set to resume Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play this weekend with two games on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Last Time Out
The Seahawks extended their winning streak to 15-games as they claimed two victories at the first day of the Aztec Invitational on Saturday, March 12. In the first game, Wagner handled Saint Francis, 17-6, before defeating the then #20 San Diego State, 13-7.
The Seahawks saw their winning streak come to an end with an 11-3 defeat against the then #13 UC San Diego on Sunday, March 13. The Green & White closed out the tournament against Austin College as the Seahawks defeated the Kangaroos 13-7.
Seahawks Remain #14
For the seventh consecutive week, Wagner remains the highest ranked east coast program in the poll and is the highest ranked MAAC team in the poll. The Seahawks are one of three MAAC teams in the poll as they are joined by #23 LIU and #24 Marist.
After checking in at #23 in the CWPA preseason poll, Wagner moved up to #17 in week one before moving up to #14 in week two before spending four weeks at that spot. Wagner was pushed back one spot and spent one week at #15. After defeating three teams who received recognition from the week six CWPA poll at the Harvard Invitational on March 5 and 6, Wagner reclaimed the #14 spot where they have lived for the last two weeks.
Kristina Bell Claims Fourth MAAC Weekly Honor
Senior goalkeeper
Kristina Bell was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Bell is now one of two goalkeepers in program history to claim at least four Defensive Player of the Week honors in the same season as former Seahawk Emily Riddle also accomplished this feat in 2017 when she claimed the award five times before claiming Defensive Player of the Year.
This past weekend at the Aztec Invitational, Bell stopped 23 shots for Wagner on 47 shots faced in three starts and 96 minutes of in between the pipes. This season, the Atascadero, CA native has stopped 136 out of 266 shots faced and has started 20 out of 21 games this season. the senior is sporting a 17-3 record with seven steals and one game-winning assist. Through 560 minutes played this season, Bell has 7.43 goals against average and a .511 save percentage.
Non-Conference Success
The Seahawks played 19 non-conference contests through the first 21 games and held a 16-3 mark in non-conference action. This is the third time in program history Wagner won at least 16 conference games in a single season as Wagner went 16-9 in the 2019 season en route 30 victories, the most wins in a single season in program history. In 2016, Wagner won a program record 17 non-conference games before winning 29 games that season.
Through the first 21 games this season, the Seahawks launched a 15-game winning streak that included 13 non-conference victories and two MAAC victories. The 15-game streak was second in program history as Wagner won 17 consecutive games in 2017 and 2018.
Conference Success
The Seahawks entered the 2022 MAAC portion of their schedule after opting out of the 2021 season sporting a 78-5 record since 2014. The 2014 season was the first of six consecutive MAAC Championships for Wagner. Prior to the run beginning in 2014, the Seahawks appeared in the MAAC Championship game 2011, 2012, and 2013 but fell to Iona all three times.
The Seahawks have appeared in 13 MAAC Championship games while claiming a conference leading nine titles. Prior to the 2021 season, either Wagner, Marist, or Iona has appeared in every championship since 2003 and those three schools are the only three to ever capture a title.
In 2016, 2017, and 2018 Wagner went unbeaten in conference play as the Seahawks went 12-0 in 2016 and 14-0 in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Wagner finished the conference schedule with a 14-1 record and a 2-0 record in 2020 as the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
The Seahawks last conference loss came in the 2019 regular season finale on a forfeit against Marist. Before that forfeit, Wagner's last MAAC defeat came 1,464 days before on April 11, 2015, against the Red Foxes.
Wagner enters this weekend with a 2-0 mark in conference play this season as they defeated La Salle, 14-5, and St. Francis Brooklyn, 20-5, on Saturday, February 26 at the Courtney Fisher Invitational.
About Villanova
After losing the first five games of the season, the Wildcats have won 11 out of their last 14 contests including three in a row. Last weekend at the Convergence Tournament in Claremont, CA, the Wildcats won three out of four including victories over Chapman, Santa Clara, and Whittier.
Villanova is led by junior Kasey Stuba who leads the squad in goals (53), assists (33), points (86), and drawn exclusions (30).
These two teams last met on April 14, 2019, as Wagner claimed an 18-6 victory and is 37-3 lifetime against the Wildcats.
About VMI
The Seahawks claimed the 20th victory in as many attempts on Sunday, January 30 at the Bucknell Invitational with a 25-4 victory. The Keydets enter the weekend with a 3-11 record and will look to snap a four-game losing streak.
VMI is led by senior Genevieve Petrassi who has 27 goals, 40 points and 23 steals.
What's Next
Next weekend Wagner will host their first contest since March 24, 2019, when they welcome conference opponents Marist, Siena, VMi, and LIU on Saturday March 26 and Sunday March 27.
Wagner has not lost at the Spiro Sports Center since they were defeated by Hartwick College, 18-17, on February 24, 2018.
