PRINCETON, NJ - The Iona College men's water polo team split a pair of contests Saturday at the Princeton Invitational hosted by the Tigers. In game one, Johns Hopkins used a strong first half to top the Gaels 13-6. In game two, the Gaels outscored MIT 3-2 in overtime to top the Engineers 11-10.
In game one, the Gaels were unable to stop the Blue Jays defense, falling to Hopkins for the second time this season. Freshman
Jake Lloyd had three points on two goals and one assist. Classmate
Tyler Mancuso also had two goals for the Gaels while junior
Kristian Bocage also found the net twice. In net, sophomore
Stefen Hill had 11 saves and two steals. Freshman
Ian Thompson drew two ejections for the Gaels while senior
Cameron Hudson and sophomore
Bryan Driscoll drew one apiece.
In the finale of the day, an 8-8 tie after four quarters provided the Gaels with their first overtime contest of the season. Down 9-8, the Gaels tied the contest on a goal by Mancuso with one second left in the session. In the second overtime, with the game tied at 10, Lloyd found the net with 37 seconds left for the game winner to reach the 11-10 final.
Lloyd finished the game with three goals and two steals. Hudson also had three goals while adding one assist and two steals. Senior
Matt Joslyn had five points on one goal and four assists. He also contributed four steals. Bocage had one goal, one assist, two steals and drew one ejection. Sophomore
Lee Stiles had one goal, one assist, one steal and drew two ejections. Mancuso had one goal while Driscoll had one assist for the Maroon & Gold. Hill had 14 saves and one steal in net.
We played poorly defensively in the first half of game one, especially in transition," said head coach
Brian Kelly. "We made adjustments in the second half that helped us on that end. Our offense picked it up as well and that translated into the second game."
The Gaels return to action next in Annapolis, MD at the CWPA North-South Crossover, opening up the weekend with a 10:30 am matchup with Princeton.
