Annapolis, MD- The Iona College men's water polo team kicked off its 2007 campaign with a 2-2 mark at the 2007 Navy Labor Day Open this weekend. The Gaels (2-2) defeated Penn State Behrend and Gannon and fell to Pacific and the host Midshipmen. Sophomore Joe Przekota led the way with 18 goals in the four game weekend.

The Maroon & Gold opened up with a convincing 13-6 win over Penn State Behrend on Saturday morning. Przekota tallied four goals and an assist while adding three steals and three kick outs drawn. Rookie Seth Tasman also had four goals and an assist with a kick out drawn. Junior Patrick St. Cin had three goals while senior Brendan Barrow and junior Nick Velasquez added two a piece. Velasquez had two assists and three steals in the win. Rookie netminder Eric Konzem earned the win allowing two goals on 10 shots with two steals and two assists in the first half. Fellow newcomer Grant Keissling stopped five shots in relief.

Iona's special team's play was key in the victory, converting 2-of-3 4-meter penalty shots and 4-of-8 man-up chances. The Gaels' stuffed the Lions 6-on-5 power play on all six tries and allowed only one four-meter conversion.

In game two on Saturday, Iona dropped a disappointing 14-10 decision to No. 13 Pacific. Przekota added five goals and assist and seven kickouts drawn. St. Cin hadd three goals while sophomore Ermre Erdogan and rookie Andrew Velasquez tallied the remaining scores. For the younger Velasquez, it was his first collegiate goal. As important as the power play was in the day's opener, it proved to be Iona's undoing in the night cap as the team scored just four times in 12 tries with a man advantage.

Iona got back on track on Sunday, picking up a 17-9 win over Gannon. Przekota erupted four eight goals and assists while drawing three kickouts and recording a steal. Nick Velasquez six points (three goals,three assists) with a team best four steals. Tausman also had a hat trick while junior Ed Gronkowski netted two goals and had two assists.

Konzem stopped five shots with two steals and an assist. Keissling had four saves in the second half to preserve the victory.

Iona faced 11th ranked and weekend host Navy in their finale, dropping a tough 8-5 decision to the Midshipmen. In a relatively well played game for the Gaels, five different players had a goal a piece in the loss. Senior tri-captain Mark Rich drew a team high three kick outs while Velasquez continued his solid defensive play with three steals. Konzem and Keissling split time in net and recorded five saves a piece.

The Gaels return to action next weekend when they travel to Princeton, NJ for four games at the Princeton Invitational. Iona squares off with Mercyhurst on Saturday (Sep. 8) morning at 10:10 am.