PROVIDENCE, RI – Siena Water Polo (1-2) earned its first win with new head coach Alex Williams at the helm Saturday morning in continuation of play at the Bruno Classic in Providence, Rhode Island. The Saints defeated Austin College, 16-13, before narrowly falling to Saint Francis (PA), 17-15, later in the afternoon.
Following a season-opening loss to tournament host Brown Friday evening, the Saints came out with an early lead in their first-ever matchup against the Roos at the Moran Aquatics Center. Siena led 5-3 at the end of the first quarter before Austin knotted the match at seven with two minutes remaining in the half.
The Roos went on to tie the match early in the third quarter, but Siena never gave up the lead, taking control by as many as four goals (13-9) with 7:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. Senior Diana Fernandez notched her first hat trick of the season with a four-goal performance, while sophomore Bianca Prinsloo and freshman Danni Croteau each added three goals. Freshman Anna Mossakowski spent the entirety of the match in-goal for the Green and Gold.
Taking the pool for action later in the afternoon, Siena also held a 5-3 lead after a period, but allowed the Red Flash to net six of the next seven goals in the contest. Prinsloo ultimately would break off the run by scoring at the conclusion of the first half to cut the deficit to 9-7 at the intermission.
SFU would go on to score the first three goals of the second half, but the Saints came back to cut it to one at the end of the third and with as little as two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Saint Francis netted one final insurance goal with just over a minute remaining in the game.
Fernandez displayed another four-goal performance to record her second straight hat trick, while junior Kristen Burger netted three goals to do so for the second time in the weekend. Freshman Goalie Sydney Jones saw the first action of her career in-net, making three saves. Croteau scored once more to cap off what were the first four goals of her career on the day.
Following the split, Siena will conclude action at the Bruno Classic on Sunday, February 2, with a battle with no. 23 Bucnkell on-tap for 3 PM to close out the tournament.
