PRINCETON, NJ - The Iona College men's water polo team continued its season opening tournament Saturday at the Princeton Invite. In game one of the day, the Gaels were unable to get their offense going and fell to Johns Hopkins 8-3. In game two, a five-meter penalty shot by George Washington in the final minute proved to be the defense as Iona fell 12-11.

Against Johns Hopkins, the Gaels had goals from freshmen Matthew Stelnicki and Sean Davis and junior Matt Joslyn.

In the nightcap, George Washington trailed Iona 8-4 in the third quarter before a 5-0 run gave it a 9-8 lead entering the final eight minutes. The contest was tied at 11-11 late in the period until the Colonials gained possession. An ejection was called and a penalty shot with 14 seconds left on the ensuing possession was converted for the game winning goal.

Against GW, Stelnicki had two goals, while Joslyn, junior Cameron Hudson and sophomore Connor Bracken also had two goals apiece. Davis had a tally and goals by junior Trevor Creighton and senior Seth Tasman rounded out the Iona scoring. Freshman Stefen Hill had 10 saves in net.

"I feel good about the team despite the results," said head coach Brian Kelly. "To be 0-3 and happy is strange, but I like the way the squad competed throughout the weekend and the mistakes we made are correctable."

The Gaels will face George Washington in the squad's first matchup of the ECAC Championships next weekend in Cambridge, MA.

Iona Goals: vs. Johns Hopkins - Stelnicki 1 (1), Joslyn 1 (1), Davis 1 (1)

  vs. George Washington - Stelnicki 2 (3), Joslyn 2 (3), Hudson 2 (3), Bracken 2 (2), Creighton 1 (2), Davis 1 (2), Tasman 1 (3)