BROOKLYN, N.Y. - After splitting the first day of MAAC competition at St. Francis College, the VMI water polo team dropped both of its matches Sunday to close the weekend in Brooklyn, New York.
In their morning matchup, the Keydets fell in a heartbreaker to host St. Francis by a 12-11 score in sudden death after two overtime periods. Later in the afternoon, VMI was defeated 22-7 by Iona College, which is receiving votes in the CWPA Top 25 poll.
Trailing 7-4 at halftime, the Keydets rallied in the third quarter with three unanswered goals as Shelby Barkley and Bailey Huddleston scored to knot it up at seven apiece. VMI pulled ahead on a goal from Sophia DelBondio to start the fourth quarter but was responded to momentarily from St. Francis with a goal. The Keydets regained the lead with just over four minutes remaining when Natalie Rivas found the back of the net, but St. Francis managed to force overtime when Kristen Kleist tied the game at nine apiece with only a minute left.
In the first overtime, Barkley scored off an assist from DelBondio with 1:17 on the clock, but the Bulldogs tied it back up with a goal from Samantha Khalil with 0:50 left and a second overtime was forced.
VMI's Bailey Huddleston regained the lead in the second overtime at the 1:57 mark, but the Bulldogs' Erin Gonzalez again tied the match 20 seconds later to force a sudden death scenario. With 1:30 left, St. Francis' Morgan Allison won the match with a goal to allow the host team the victory.
Iona 22, VMI 7
The Gaels made a statement early by jumping on top, 9-0, after the opening period and scored five more in the second while allowing just three goals from VMI's Rebecca Serrano, Barkley and Rivas.
Barkley scored a pair of goals in the third quarter and Rivas and freshman Sarah Dolitsky scored one apiece in the fourth quarter, but the match proved to be insurmountable for a Keydet comeback as the Gaels went on to take the 22-7 victory.
Barkley's hat trick led the Keydets in scoring while Rivas totaled two as the duo combined for 10 shot attempts. Cecilya Lundy logged three shots during the game.
VMI returns to action next weekend with two matches Saturday and a pair on Sunday. The Keydets will face a ranked Wagner squad (12 p.m.) and Marist (4 p.m.) Saturday hosted by Siena College in Loudonville, New York. On Sunday, VMI will take on Siena (9 a.m.) and Villanova (2:30 p.m.) hosted by Marist in Poughkeepsie, New York.
