April 23, 2011
Siena water polo dropped their final two games of the 2011 regular season, losing 14-11 to St. Francis (N.Y.) and 16-8 to Iona Saturday at Villanova. The losses ended Siena's hopes of a MAAC Tournament bid, as the Terriers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker for the #4 seed.
The Saints (10-16, 4-6 MAAC) started with a back-and-forth game against the Terriers, and with St. Francis holding a slim 7-6 halftime lead, it was anyone's game. However, the Saints were outscored 5-2 in the third stanza, and were unable to make up the deficit despite outscoring the Terriers in the final eight minutes.
Camille Norman and Jackie Crosby each tallied four goals for the Saints in the loss. Fellow senior Nicole Hagi added two, including a man-down goal in the fourth that briefly kept Siena's comeback hopes afloat.
Siena then needed a win over regular-season MAAC champion Iona in the day's second game, as well as some help from other teams in the league. However, the necessary scenarios never materialized despite a promising first half.
The Saints trailed just 5-4 at the half, buoyed by two goals from freshman Lea Allen. However, the Gaels stormed away, outscoring Siena 5-2 in the third and 6-2 in the fourth. Norman scored two second-half goals in the losing effort, also adding three assists and a pair of ejections drawn.
