LOUDONVILLE, NY – Returning home for the second straight Sunday, Siena Water Polo (3-16, 0-5) fell in a pair of close matches to MAAC opponents on Sunday. The Saints dropped a 16-7 decision to La Salle before falling, 15-12, to Villanova at the Siena Swim Center.
 
La Salle 16, Siena 7
 
Siena senior Georgia Vergas netted the first goal of the day and the Saints trailed by only one, 5-4, at the end of the opening quarter, but were out-scored, 5-1, in the second period by the Explorers. Siena got a pair of goals back in the third, but could not find the back of the net in the final eight minutes of play.
 
The Green and Gold were led offensively by senior Bianca Prinsloo, who netted a first half hat trick. Aside from Vargas, freshman Ashley Chand, freshman Cece White, and junior Sydney Arnold also scored, while sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Behr put up nine saves in-goal.
 
Villanova 15, Siena 12
 
The Saints Again attempted to put together early momentum with Chand scoring in the first two minutes, but Villanova netted four of the next five goals to build up an early lead. Chand would come alive in the first half, netting each of the Saints' first five goals of the match en-route to a career-high six scores.
 
The Southlake Texas' offensive outburst helped the Saints to go into halftime tied at seven, but Villanova responded to the tune of six of the next eight goals. Siena's three fourth quarter goals were not enough to close the deficit, despite its highest scoring total against a conference opponent this season.
 
Vargas also notched a hat trick with four goals, while junior Lily Graham found the back of the net twice. Junior goalkeeper Anna Mossakowski made seven saves in-between-the-pipes.
 
Siena will continue both conference and a four-match homestand next weekend, returning to the Siena Swim Center to host MAAC foes VMI and Wagner on Saturday, April 2.