Oneonta, N.Y.- Your Saint Francis Red Flash water polo team spent Saint Patrick's Day in the pool as the squad lost a competitive game to nationally ranked Hartwick and defeated Siena and Utica to improve to 12-5 on the season.

Flash Points

·        Saint Francis defeated the Siena Saints for the third time this season.

·        The 18 goals scored against Hartwick were the most points conceded by the Hawks this season.

·        Marialena Seletopoulou (Glyfada Athens Greece/Yannopoulos School) posted 10 goals in two games versus Hartwick and Siena

Highlights

·        The first period against Hartwick was a barn burner that turned the pool into a hot tub of scoring. Hartwick jumped out to a 4-0 start but the Red Flash battled back as Seletopoulou, Kelly Fehr (Erie, Pa/Villa Maria Academy), Erin O'Neill (Landsdale, Pa/North Penn) and Missy McCreary (Altadena, CA/LaSalle (Citrus College)) led the charge to narrow the margin to 6-5.

·        The Hawks dominated the second period holding the Red Flash to a single goal by Kelsey Gring (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson ) as they extended the lead to 11-6.

·        In the third period, goals by Marialena Seletopoulou (Glyfada Athens Greece/Yannopoulos School) and Lani Merrill (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente (Saddleback College)) placed Saint Francis within four points but another Hartwick scoring run put the deficit at 17-10.

·        The final quarter saw 15 combined goals scored as both teams shot like Hawkeye from The Last of the Mohicans. Seletopoulou's four goals were not enough to turn the tide as the closest the Red Flash lurked was 20-16 but a final Hartwick run put the game away at 24-18. It was a tremendous showing by the second year Red Flash program and a testament to how much the team has progressed.

·        In game two against Siena, Saint Francis was reunited with its familiar Franciscan foe for the third time this season. The Red Flash won the previous two battles and the first quarter served notice that the trend would continue as the Frankies jumped out to a 5-1 advantage thanks to Fehr and Seletopoulou.

·        The second period saw more of the same as Julia Kreidinger (Erie, Pennsylvania/Villa Maria) got into the action with two goals to push the midterm lead to 9-4.

·        Fehr and Seletopoulou renewed their partnership in the third period to keep the Saints at bay with a goal each as the score became 11-7.

·        As befitting their moniker, the Saints died hard as Siena repeatedly in the final quarter cut the deficit to two. Twice, Missy McCreary (Altadena, CA/LaSalle (Citrus College)) answered their defiance with a goal to seal the win at 14-11.

·        In the nightcap against Utica, the reserves were given the opportunity to shine as Kreidinger and Gabrielle Garritson (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake High School) each scored to post a 2-0 lead.

·        The second period proved to be a defensive struggle as only Utica posted a goal.

·        The Red Flash put the game away in the third period as Kreidinger, Garritson, Krysta Ponek (Panama City Beach, Fla./Arnold (Utica College)) and Camillie Nguyen (Mason, Ohio/Mason) all scored to make it 7-1.

·        Kaitlyn Nguyen (Annandale, Va/Bishop Ireton) and Shelby Sanko (McAdoo, PA/Hazelton Area) were among the scorers in the fourth period as the Red Flash polished off a 10-2 victory.

Notes

·        With the victory over Utica, the Red Flash passed the win total (11) from 2017.

·        Saint Francis is 3-0 against Siena this season.

Up Next

Next weekend, the Red Flash play host to George Washington, Harvard, Indiana and Bucknell. Be sure to pack the Stokes Natatorium for the only homestead of the year.

Hartwick Box Score Siena Box Score Utica Box Score