Cambridge, MA - The Iona College Men's Water Polo team advanced to the third place game at the Northern Division Championships with split on Saturday. The Gaels sunk No. 6 Fordham 8-7, but fell to No. 1 St. Francis (NY) 17-6. Iona will play the No. 5 MIT at 1:00 pm on Sunday.

Iona and the Rams were tied at 2 after the first quarter. Fordham outscored the Maroon & Gold three goals to two goals in the second to take a 5-4 advantage at the half. The Gaels powered ahead for good with a 4-1 third quarter and despite a 1-0 fourth quarter for Fordham, Iona held on for the 8-7 victory. Junior tri-captain Joe Przekota and sophomore Seth Tasman played key roles for the Gaels in the first half, but both majored and fouled out in the second half.

Rookie Trevor Creighton led the team with three goals, three kickouts drawn and two steals. Senior Nick Velasquez had his "best game of the season", said Head Coach Brian Kelly as he scored twice and added five steals and a field block. Senior tri-captain Ed Gronkowski added a goal, a kickout drawn and a field block. Tasman scored and junior Emre Erdogan closed out the scoring with a goal, three kickouts drawn and a field block. Sophomore goalie Eric Konzem finished with seven saves and two steals.

In the second game, the Gaels struggled against the Terriers. The Maroon & Gold got strong play from several players, but it wasn't enough in a tough 17-6 defeat. Tasman finished with a hat trick and Przekota added two goals. Senior Mark DiCola netted a goal with two kickouts drawn. Gronkowski had a steal with two kickouts drawn and the Gaels used two goalies with Konzem stopping five shots and junior Eric Lilly adding three saves.

With the opening game win, the Gaels advanced to their third Eastern Division Championships in four seasons.

                    1st   2nd   3rd   4th    Final
IONA               2       2       4      0      8    
FORDHAM            2       3       1      1       7 

Teams
1st Seed - Brown University
2nd Seed - St. Francis College
3rd Seed - Iona College
4th Seed - Harvard University
5th Seed - MIT
6th Seed - Fordham University
7th Seed - Queens College
8th Seed - Connecticut College

Saturday, November 8, 2008
9:00 a.m. Brown University 12 Connecticut College 8 (Game 1)
10:30 a.m. Harvard University 7 MIT 9 - OT (Game 2)
12:00 p.m. St. Francis College 16 Queens College 9 (Game 3)
1:30 p.m. Iona College 8 Fordham University 7 (Game 4)
4:00 p.m. Harvard University 20 Connecticut College 4 (Game 5)
5:30 p.m. Fordham University 13 Queens College 7 (Game 6)
7:00 p.m. Brown University 11 MIT 4 (Game 7)
8:30 p.m. St. Francis College def. Iona College (Game 8)

Sunday, November 9, 2008
10:00 a.m. Queens College vs. Connecticut College (7th Place)
11:30 a.m. Harvard University vs. Fordham University (5th Place)
1:00 p.m. Iona College vs. MIT (3rd Place)
2:30 p.m. Brown University vs. St. Francis College (1st Place)