Siena Water Polo opened up their four-game homestand with a split against MAAC foes Villanova and #17 Wagner. First, the Saints held on to defeat Villanova 10-9, before falling 21-5 to Wagner.

"It was a tight win against Villanova," said head coach Tamara Perea. "In years past it's been back and forth in the MAAC for Siena, but being able to win at home we appreciate everyone coming out and watching us, including administration and fellow student athletes. We had a couple of moments where we pulled away and we showed growth as a team and when we see Villanova again and other our conference teams we will be able to take a tight win and make it a stronger margin moving forward."

Game One: Siena 10, Villanova 9
Siena held off Villanova 10-9 to open up their four-game homestand during a MAAC weekend in Loudonville.

Diana Fernandez led Siena (2-10) with four goals, five exclusions drawn and three steals, while Sophia Torres, Sara Lopez and Clare Bryar all added two goals apiece. Fiona Dretzka came up huge in net with 12 saves and one steal to secure the Saints victory.

Sara Lynn Abele led Villanova with four points off of three goals and one assist. Dominique Clark added two goals, while four others registered one goal each.

Siena started things off right away with Bryar winning the spring and Fernandez scoring on Siena's first possession to lead 1-0. Torres tallied her first goal to put the Saints up 2-0 with five minutes left in the opening frame. Following a Fernandez exclusion, Villanova was able to capitalize and rebound to get themselves on the board 2-1. At the end of one period played the score would be tied 2-2.

Bryar won the sprint and scored on the opening possession to open the second period and put Siena back ahead 3-2. Villanova followed that up and again the score would be tied. Fernandez then tallied a powerplay goal and Siena would lead and following a huge penalty shot save by Dretzka, Lopez would score to put Siena up 5-3. It wouldn't be long before Villanova came right back and tied it up 5-5, which would be the score at the half.

While it wasn't on the opening possession, Siena would score on their first possession of the third quarter and jump back into the lead 6-5. The Saints would then score three more unanswered goals to lead 9-5. In the waning minutes of the third quarter, Villanova would tack on two goals to trail 9-7.

Siena would only score one goal in the final frame by Bryar on a power play but that would be all they needed to put the win in the bag 10-9 over MAAC foe Villanova.

Game Two: #17 Wagner 21, Siena 5
#17 Wagner came out strong and quick in both teams second games of the day taking a demanding 21-5 win over the Saints.

Fernandez led Siena with three points coming from two goals and one assist. Bryar added two of Siena's five goals, while Fuertes tallied the final goal. Dretzka notched eight saves in net.

Kimberly Watson was all over the board for the Seahawks with seven goals and one assist, while also drawing one ejection and swiping the ball once. Erica Hardy tallied four goals and dished out two assists, while Daisy Nankervis recorded three goals for Wagner.

Wagner came out strong in the sprint and registered the first seven shots of the game. Just as the clock was winding down in the first quarter, Fernandez, who was right in front of the goa, found the back of the net with a dish from Nichol Feldtz to trail 7-1 after one quarter played.

Watson from Wagner won the second sprint and helped the Seahawks turn that into their eighth goal of the game. The Saints would not be deterred and fought through to trail 8-2 with a goal from Bryar. Watson scored the next three goals for the Seahawks to put Wagner up 11-2. The Seahawks registered the next two goals to lead 13-2 at the half.

Following a power play created by Bryar, Fernandez gave the Saints their first goal of the third quarter.The Seahawks would respond with six unanswered goals before Bryar would score on a penalty shot to trail 19-4. The Saints would trail Wagner 21-4 with eight minutes to play.

Burger won the final sprint and found Sophia Torres who got off a good look, but Katherine Campbell was there to make the save. Fernandez scored the final goal of the game with 4:44 on the clock and Wagner would hold out to win 21-5.

The Saints get right back in the pool on Sunday, March 11 to close out league opening-weekend against #23 Marist at 10:30 a.m. and St. Francis Brooklyn at 4:30 p.m. Siena will honor Clare Bryar prior to the 4:30 p.m. game.