Women's Water Polo | April 5, 2019

BROOKLYN – La Salle enters a monumental weekend of water polo in its quest to qualify for the MAAC Championship. The top four teams make the postseason and La Salle currently sits in sixth with the same record as fifth-place Villanova. On Saturday, April 6th the Explorers face VMI (third place) at noon and Marist (second place) at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, it's St. Francis Brooklyn (seventh place) at 9 a.m. and Iona (fourth place) at 3:00 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE EXPLORERS

• New York state of mind: this season, the Explorers are 4-1 in the Empire State. They're averaging 9.6 goals per game during those five contests, over a goal better than their season average of 8.3 per game.
• In their last weekend of play, March 23rd and 24th, women's water polo went 2-1 in Staten Island, defeating Siena and Villanova.
• Sophomore Sarah DeFusco led the Explorers with 12 goals over those three games. Classmate Jillian Delisle was the top provider on the team with seven assists.
• In net, junior Jenny Fermaintt was key in keeping La Salle in wins over Siena and Villanova. In those two games, she recorded 22 saves on 45 shots for a save percentage of 48.9%.

 SCOUTING VMI

• The Keydets are currently third in the conference with a 4-3 record vs. the MAAC. Overall, they're 14-7 on the season.
• Las time out vs. La Salle, VMI narrowly won at home 14-13 on March 10th.
• The Keydets are led by redshirt freshman McKenna Imset with 88 points (71 goals, 17 assists) and senior Sarah Dolitsky 82 points (65 goals, 17 assists). Imset is the team's leader in exclusions earned with 43, while Dolitsky paces VMI in steals with 27.
• In net, junior Isabel French has recorded 266 saves and a save percentage of 55.2%.

 SCOUTING MARIST

• Marist is 15-12 this season but has played increasingly well against conference opposition with a 6-1 mark, second in the MAAC.
• The Red Foxes will be familiar to La Salle's head coach, Tom Hyham, as his daughter is a freshman goalkeeper there. Marina Hyham has logged 224 of 900 minutes in net this season, going 2-2 with a 41.7% save percentage and a 8.00 goals against average.
• Marist is paced by senior Katherine Tijerina and junior Justine Castro, both on 43 points. The two are also tied for the team led in steals, with 23 each.

 SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN

• The Terriers are 4-17 this season, going 1-6 in conference play. They most recently went 1-2 in MAAC competition in Staten Island and sit seventh in the standings.
• St. Francis has faced La Salle twice this year, with the Explorers emerging victorious on both occasions. La Salle's first triumph came on February 23rd, a 9-7 scoreline, while its second was on March 9th, a 12-11 result.
• Sophomore Kelsey Snelgar is the undisputed talisman of the team. She paces the Terriers in goals (95), points (117) and steals (59). Second on the team in points is Nicole Herrick with 42.
• In goal for St. Francis is freshman Marycatherine Mckendry, who has tallied 128 saves on 337 shots for a save percentage of 38.0%.

 SCOUTING IONA

• Iona currently occupies the fourth and final postseason spot with a 4-3 record in MAAC play. Overall, they're 10-14 this season.
• La Salle has played the Gaels once in 2019, falling 15-8 on March 10th.
• Iona has two players above 50 points this season: sophomore Jordan Van Reeken on 71 points (61 goals, 10 assists) and freshman Jillian Schultz with 60 points (47 goals, 13 assists). Reeken leads the team in steals with 47, while Schultz is first in exclusions earned with 64.
• Redshirt junior Jordin Hale has played the majority of minutes in goal for the Gaels, recording 226 saves and a 10.81 goals against average.