Lexington, VA – The Wagner women's water polo team defeated the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) 28-12 behind senior
Sofia Diaz Alvarez's 10-goal performance on Sunday morning.
#14 Wagner (28) vs. VMI (12)
Junior
Skye Nankervis got the Seahawks off and running to begin the contest with her lone sprint victory of the contest before Wagner outscored VMI 9-3 in the opening quarter. Fifth-year senior
Malia Josephson tallied four goals in the opening frame while
Sofia Diaz Alvarez netted a hat trick. Junior
Abbey Simshauser and sophomore
Andrea Arias found the back of the net once in the opening eight minutes.
The Seahawks carried their momentum into the second frame as
Carlota Alonso claimed the sprint victory as the Green & White went on to outscore the Keydets 10-1 in the second stanza.
Sofia Diaz Alvarez and freshman
Carlota Alonso tallied a hat trick in the frame while
Malia Josephson,
Andrea Arias, senior
Pip Nash and sophomore
Grace Coleman each tallied one goal in the second frame. Wagner took a 19-4 lead into the second half and senior goalkeeper
Kristina Bell was replaced by classmate
Mikaela Wells, the reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Defensive Player of the Week finished with four saves and one steal.
The Seahawks opened the second half with a sprint victory from
Carlota Alonso. Wagner went on to outscore VMI 5-2 in the third quarter before being outscored by the Keydets 6-4 in the final stanza. The late run by the hosts wasn't enough as Wagner claimed a 28-12 victory to move to 20-3 this season.
Sofia Diaz Alvarez tallied 10 goals on 13 shots to go along with three assists and three steals while
Malia Josephson scored six times on nine shots while dishing out six assists.
Carlota Alonso recorded a career high five goals on eight shots to go along with four steals and two sprint wins in the contest, also a career high.
Sofia Diaz Alvarez's 10 goals is a single game program record that was set by
Andrea Arias on February 6 when the tallied nine goals against Siena. Diaz Alvarez held the previous record when she scored eight times against Indiana on January 25, 2019.
This is the fifth time this season the Seahawks have scored 25 or more goals in a single contest which is a program record as Wagner moves to 20-3 overall. 20 victories in the team's first 23 contests is also a program record as Wagner moves to 4-0 in MAAC play for the fourth season in a row.
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.
