LEXINGTON, Va. - After dropping its opening game to No. 21 Wagner, the VMI Water Polo Team prevailed in a thrilling, sudden-death overtime contest after Sadie Smith's eighth goal of the game lifted the Keydets to a 20-19 win over Siena in the VMI-MAAC Showcase at the VMI Aquatic Center.

The victory is VMI's first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) win since 2022, when the Keydets took down Siena 18-14 at home. The victory, which came in the program's first overtime game since last season (against Siena), snapped a three-game skid in the series.

VMI improves to 7-13 on the year, and will close out the regular season Sunday when it takes on LIU at 11:00 a.m. 
 

Sunday, March 29  
11:00 AM – LIU vs. VMI – Watch  - Live Stats

Game 1 - L, 9-23 vs. No. 21 Wagner
- Makynna Smith, Noa Ziv score four apiece
- Kathryn Myler finds the back of the net
- All three goalies see action
- Wagner jumped in front 4-0, but VMI settled in and traded goals in the second, trailing 12-7 at the break
- The Seahawks would stretch the margin in the third, blanking VMI in the fourth for the win

Game 2 - W, 20-19 (3OT) vs. Siena
- Sadie Smith nets career-best 8 goals; four Keydets score two
- Makynna Smith records a hat trick, Sydney Smith scores one
- Ysabel Casillas records 14 saves in 41 minutes of action
- Siena struck first but Ziv answered, followed by each of the Smith's scoring to give VMI a 4-3 advantage at 2:15
- After the Saints pulled in front 7-4, Sadie Smith scored a pair and Haley Minnich added a score as the teams went into the break one goal apart (Siena, 8-7)
- The teams traded goals in the third, with Ziv giving VMI a 12-11 advantage late in the third
- VMI would extend its lead to two, but Siena charged back to take the lead
- Makynna Smith and Sadie Smith responded with goals and after Siena tied the score at 16-16, Sadie Smith let a shot fly as time expired, with the ball stopping just short of the net as the teams headed to overtime
- Two minutes into the first overtime, Hollie Sauceda buried a shot, scoring another just before expiration (18-16)
- In the second overtime, Siena knotted the score with 47 seconds remaining, but a Meagan Riding powerplay goal gave VMI the 19-18 lead with 18 seconds remaining but the Saints equalized just before the final buzzer