LOUDONVILLE, NY - The Iona College women's water polo team completed a weekend sweep of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a pair of wins Sunday afternoon at the Siena Swim Center.  In game one, the Gaels defeated Marist 11-7 before topping Villanova 13-9 in the weekend finale.

Against the Red Foxes, junior Cecilia Leonard had three goals and two assists, along with four steals and a field block on the defensive end.  Freshman Amy Olsen drew four kickouts to go along with two goals and one assist.  Junior Mackenzie Mone had two goals and three steals.  Sophomore Alyssa Turza had two goals, two steals and drew a kickout while senior Maggie Wood had a goal and drew two kickouts.  Sophomore Lauren Scheetz had the final Iona tally.

In goal, senior Kathleen Link had five saves and two steals in two quarters of action. Freshman Marisa Gaynor had three saves, three steals and an assist in the other two quarters of play.

 

"We played an excellent defensive game, especially in the first half," commented head coach Brian Kelly.  "When you only allow one goal in a half against a high powered offense like Marist, you're getting the job done.  It was a nice solid effort where we had some girls in foul trouble and key bench players stepped up."

The Gaels used a seven goal first quarter to push to a 7-1 lead and never looked back.  Mone had three goals and two assists to lead the Maroon & Gold while Olsen had two goals and two assists.  Freshman Erika Lauraitis had two goals and an assist while Wood had two goals to go along with a kickout drawn.  Scheetz had a goal and an assist while Leonard had a tally for the Gaels.  Sophomore Terra Shelton had a goal, drew a kickout and picked up a steal on defense.  Senior Sam Cody and junior Caitlin McGregor each had one assist and one steal in the contest.

Gaynor had six saves and two steals in the first half while sophomore Juliana Kiesselbach had six saves in the second.

 

"This is the third straight game where we've held our opponent to two or fewer goals in the first half," said Kelly.  "Our defense is really stepping up and we are benefitting from a well rounded offensive attack.  It's great to get off to such a solid start in conference.  Things are going to be very tight from top to bottom this year and starting out undefeated puts a lot of pressure on everyone behind us."

The Gaels are back in action Saturday when they host a pair of contests at the Hynes Center Pool. At 1:00 pm, the Gaels take on St. Francis (PA) before taking on Wagner at 4:00 pm.