LEXINGTON, Va. – Villanova Women's Water Polo used a barrage of goals in the second half to pull away from the Siena Saints for their first MAAC win of the season, winning by a score of 18-13. They improve to 14-7 on the season, and 1-1 in conference play.
The Wildcats shot 18-26 (.692%), and their potent offense held Siena's goalie to just one save (.053%), which came on a desperation heave at the end of the second frame by Villanova goalie,
Rachel Stephens.
Anna Painter and
Riley Hull led the way for Villanova, combining for 10 of the 18 goals in the contest. The junior recorded a career-high for goals in a game with her five tallies today. Seven of the pair's 10 goals were scored in the second half.
Painter also added two assists, good for seven points on the day, tying her for fourth in program history for points in a game.
Villanova started out strong, scoring four of the game's first five goals coming from
Ella Mattocks,
Emily McKenzie twice over, and
Sara Withers.
Emmie Mallory and
Lauren Short kept the Saints out of reach, totaling a goal apiece to give VU six goals in the first quarter.
After reaching 100 career assists yesterday, Withers recorded four in this contest, putting her in reach to be in the top five all-time for assists in a career by the end of the season.
Both squads' offenses reached more of an equilibrium in the second quarter, with the Saints outscoring the Wildcats 5-4.
Painter and Hull capitalized in the second stanza, starting each of their stellar days, helping the Wildcats enter the break leading 10-8.
The Wildcats were able to maintain a three-goal advantage for much of the second quarter, with Siena following close behind, answering every Villanova tally.
Siena's Lucia Fernandez Caballero scored to open the third, trimming the lead to just one for Villanova, who proceeded to go on a 4-1 run, breaking the game open.
Painter, Mattocks, and Hull added on, while
Tiffany Maguire joined the scoring, as the Wildcats led 14-11 after three.
Villanova pulled away for good in the final frame, as Painter and Hull netted their fourth and fifth tallies each. The Wildcats held the Saints scoreless for the final five minutes as those two and
Amelia Baca found the back of the net to secure the five-goal victory.
Hull drew five exclusions, leading to a plethora of offensive opportunities, including netting her final score on a pass from Withers after drawing an exclusion and
taking advantage of a distracted goalkeeper.
Eight different Wildcats scored in the contest, and VU has totaled 34 goals across their two games against the Saints this season.
Stephens got the start in net for the second consecutive game, where she recorded five saves, including one on a 5M attempt.
Fernandez Caballero scored five times for the Saints, while Rebecca Currie chipped in with three more.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats have one more game left in Virginia this weekend. They face off against the home team, VMI, at 2:00 P.M. today, Sunday, March 16.
WATCH
The final game of the weekend will be streamed on ESPN+. Links can be found in the 2025 Women's Water Polo Schedule or on ESPN+ under the VMI-MAAC Showcase daily streams.
SOCIAL
For all the latest updates surrounding the program, follow Villanova Water Polo on Instagram @novawaterpolo and X (formerly Twitter) @nova_waterpolo.
