2017 MAAC Water Polo Championship Preview
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The 2017 MAAC Water Polo Championship kicks off at the McCann Natatorium on the campus of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, this Saturday, April 29th. The #1 seeded Wagner Seahawks will take on the #4 seeded Iona Gaels in the first semifinal matchup at 12:00 pm, and the #2 seeded Marist Red Foxes will face the #3 seeded Virginia Military Institute Keydets in the second semifinal matchup at 2:00 pm.
In their regular season meetings the Seahawks (22-10, 14-0 MAAC) bested the Gaels (11-12, 8-6 MAAC) twice. In the first meeting between the two, Wagner defeated Iona 13-8. Junior utility, Kimberly Watson was the leading scorer with five goals and one assist for a total of six points for the Seahawks. For the Gaels, Hannah Schultz led the way with three goals and one assist for four points. Emily Riddle held the Gaels scoreless in the third quarter and made seven saves in the victory.
The second meeting was a much closer battle with the Seahawks narrowly escaping with a 9-8 victory. Kimberly Watson and Hannah Schultz each scored four goals. After the Seahawks gained a 2-0 lead, 2-meter guard Kayla Allen started a 3-0 run and the tied up the game at three going into the half. Wagner junior Elise Begg broke the tie but it was quickly back thanks to another score from Allen. Wagner then sealed the deal in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter with a pair of goals from Watson and Hardy.
The Red Foxes (19-13, 11-3 MAAC) and the Keydets (22-6, 11-3) split their regular season matchups winning one game each. In the first meeting, the Foxes beat the Keydets 15-8. In the game the Red Foxes were led by sophomore center Grace Doerfler, who scored three goals and added one assist. After VMI junior Shelby Barkley opened the scoring early in the first quarter, the Foxes scored eight unanswered goals. The Keydets were able to close the gap to 9-6 thanks to goals from Bailey Huddleston and Cecilya Lundy. Huddleston was the high scorer for the Keydets registering three goals. Marist was able to put the game away with goals from freshman Justine Castro and senior Nastassia McGlothlin.
The second meeting between the two was a close game that went into double overtime, and the Keydets pulled away with the 17-15 victory. This was a monumental victory for the Keydets, recording their first win over the Red Foxes, and the programs first win over a nationally ranked team. The first quarter was back and forth with both teams trading goals. At the end of the first quarter it was 3-2, with goals Nastasssia McGlothlin, Jocelyn McQuade, and Katherine Tijerina from Marist and, for the Keydets, Natalie Rivas and Emma Noble were the goal scorers. Amanda Amorosa, Diana Carballo, and Jocelyn McQuade scored back-to-back-back goals to extend the Foxes lead in the remaining minutes of the first half, making the score 7-4. The Keydets would answer right back with back-to-back goals from Bailey Huddleston and Sarah Dolitsky in the third.
The Foxes had a 13-11 lead in the final minutes of regulation but VMI goals by Rivas and Lundy tied the game with 20 seconds left. The first overtime period saw goals by McGlothlin from Marist and Rivas from VMI. A goal by McQuade gave the Foxes a 15-14 lead heading into the second overtime period. In that period junior Sophia DelBondio gave the Keydets the 17-15 lead and secured the victory. Freshman goalie Isabel French made 19 saves in the victory which tied her season high and tied the No. 2 rank in the record book, which also belongs to French.
The consolation game will take place on April 30th at 12:00 pm, and the championship game will follow at 2:00 pm.
For all of the up to date information on the 2017 MAAC Water Polo Championship visit www.maacsports.com/waterpolo. For tickets visit www.maac.ticketleap.com, and all four games will be available on www.maac.tv.