PRINCETON, NJ - The Iona College men's water polo team dropped a pair of non-confernce contests Saturday against CWPA South competition at Denuncio Pool on the campus of Princeton University.
Managing only five goals against a stiff defense, the Gaels fell to George Washington 15-5 in the first match of the day. In the second game, despite one lead and three ties in the first half, the Gaels fell to the host No. 15 Tigers 13-9.
Against GW, senior Matthew Stelnicki and junior Kyle Elmore led Iona with two goals each, while senior Sean Davis had one goal. The Iona trio of goalkeepers combined for six saves; senior goalie Stefen Hill recorded three, sophomore Matt McCrudden had two, and junior Mike Pufunt had one.
Only 18 seconds into the match, Stelnicki's lob put Iona on the board first. But three consecutive goals gave the Colonials a 3-1 lead going into the second period.
George Washington hit two more goals, until Stelnicki's second goal on a 6-5 advantage with 4:13 left in the second period pulled Iona with three at 5-2. The Colonials went up 6-2, then Elmore narrowed the George Washington lead to 6-3 with 1:54 to intermission. Nineteen seconds later, the Colonials scored for a 7-3 halftime advantage.
Holding the Gaels scoreless in the third period, George Washington hit six goals for a 13-3 lead going into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Davis, Stiles and Elmore scored for the Gaels, but the Colonials netted two more goals for the 15-6 win.
Against Princeton, junior Jake Lloyd and senior Lee Stiles lead the Gaels with two goals each, while Davis, Elmore, juniors James Ramaley and Ian Thompson and freshman Will Diemer had one tally each. Senior goalie Stefen Hill recorded six saves.
Iona struck first on Lloyd's first goal 1:33 into the match. Princeton scored two consecutive goals to tie, then go ahead 2-1 with 4:07 left in the first period. Lloyd tied the game at two a minute later, but Princeton scored in the closing minute for a 3-2 lead at the quarter's end.
Although Princeton took a 4-2 lead in the opening minute of the second period, Stiles and Ramaley's goals erased the Tiger lead and tied the score at four with 5:56 left to halftime. But the hosts netted two unanswered scores for a 6-4 advantage at intermission.
In the third period, Stiles' second goal and Elmore's score narrowed the Princeton lead to 9-6 in the closing two minutes. But Princeton answered with two scores to take an 11-6 lead going into the final period.
Iona outscored Princeton 3-2 in the fourth on goals by Davis, Thompson and Diemer, his first as a Gael, in the closing two minutes.
Iona travels to St. Francis College Brooklyn this Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. match, then wraps up the regular season next weekend with three matches at Cambridge, MA and New London, CT.
