Annapolis, MD - The Iona College Men's Water Polo team headed to the Eastern
Championships as the number 3 seed out of the North and drew the host
and number 2 seed from the South, Navy, in the opening round. The
Gaels trailed by just a goal after the first quarter, but the
Midshipmen used a strong second quarter en route to 14-10 win.
The Maroon and Gold took an early 1-0
lead just 53 seconds into the game as Joe Przekota found the back of the net. Navy, though netted three straight to make it a 3-1 affair. The Gaels closed out the first period as Seth
Tasman beat the Navy goalie with 1:16 on
the clock to cut it to 3-2, but that's as close as Iona would get. Navy outscored Iona 7-3 in the second quarter to push its lead to 10-5, but the Gaels put together a 5-2 final quarter to pull within four as the game ended with Midshipmen on top.
Przekota led the team with four goals, an assist, a steal, and three kickouts drawn. Patrick St. Cin added a pair of goals, an assist, and a field block. Nick Velasquez netted a goal with an assist, a steal and kickout drawn. Tasman finished with a kickout drawn and field block to go along with his tally. Emre Erdogan and Matt Joslyn each added goals and goalie Eric Konzem stopped three shots with two steals.
After the game, the Collegiate Water Polo Association announced the 2008 Men's All-North and
All-South Division Teams at the 2008 Eastern
Championship Hall of Fame Banquet at the DoubleTree Hotel. The teams were voted on by each division's head
coaches and honor the 14 best
players in both divisions for their play based on results during
the regular season. Senior tri-captain Patrick St. Cin was selected to the All-North Second Team. He entered the Eastern Championships 36th in the country in goals with 48. He also led the team with 25 assists.
St. Cin and the Gaels return to action Saturday afternoon as they face the number 4 seed from the South, Bucknell at 4:00 pm.
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Iona 2 3 0 5 10
Navy 3 7 2 2 14
