April 1, 2006
Final Stats
Loudonville, NY-- The Siena women's water polo team split their first two matches to Mercyhurst, 12-12, and MAAC foe Marist, 8-6 on Saturday afternoon in the Saints Second Annual Invitational that featured seven teams competing in two matches each on the day.
The Lakers' were looking to repeat last season invite cruising to half-time with a 6-5 lead over the Saints. The two teams exchanged goals during the third quarter, until sophomore Caitlin Smith and freshman Lynn Whitmire found the back of the net to put Siena within one goal, 7-8 with 1:58 left to play. In the third quarter, Siena tied the game 8-8 off a goal from Lauren Garrigan. Mercyhurst attempted to respond as Lakers Christine Somera shot was blocked by Whitmire. At the 2:36 mark, Garrigan scored off a Saints steal taking the lead 11-10. Mercyhurst rallied back with two goals off of two Saints turnovers. Goalie Kaedy Graves snatched eight saves in the game. While senior Shauna Allen won 3 of 4 swim-offs.
In the nightcap against Marist, the Saints out-scored the Red Foxes 3-1 in the first quarter in front of a thunderous crowd of 120 fans. The Saints controlled the game heading into intermission knotted 5-5. At the start of the third quarter, Smith was unstoppable in the nets connecting on three goals, but Marist rallied to take a two goal win, 8-6. For the Saints, Graves blocked 10 goals, snatched four steals and dished out one assist.
Siena faces an opponent in the "A" bracket for a third place finishing in the championship round.
