Courtesy of Dr. Jack Breslin
CLAREMONT, CA - Despite racing to a 2-0 lead in the opening minute and tying the match four times, the Iona College men's water polo team fell 14-12 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Thursday evening in the first match of its annual three-day California road trip.
Seniors Jake Lloyd and Kyle Elmore led Iona with three goals each. Senior Rafael Romero and sophomore Elerick Curet hit two each, and junior Zach Presto and sophomore Hudson Grieve had one goal apiece. On defense, senior Ian Thompson recorded three blocks and drew six kick-outs, while senior Nicholas Joslyn had three steals. Senior goalie Mike Pufunt recorded eight saves.
The Gaels (2-7 overall, 2-3 CWPA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Presto and Elmore. Claremont responded with four consecutive scores to tie the match, then go ahead 4-2 with 3:02 left in the first quarter. Two minutes later, Curet narrowed the gap to 4-3, but Claremont scored with one second left to lead 5-3.
The second period saw fierce defense by both squads, including three Gael shot blocks. Neither team scored until 1:06 left when Lloyd pulled Iona within one 5-4 at halftime.
Both offenses revived in the third with eleven goals between them. With 58 seconds gone, Claremont increased its lead to 6-4. Two straight scores by Elmore and Romero tied the match at six at the 6:25 mark. Claremont regained the lead, but Curet's second score tied the score again at seven with 5:20 left.
Claremont added two more, then Elmore's third goal narrowed the host's lead to 9-8 with 3:15 left. In the final minute of the third, Claremont went ahead 10-8, until goals from Grieve and Lloyd tied the game at ten entering the final period.
The hosts hit three straight goals for a 13-10 edge with 3:26 left in the match. Sixteen seconds later, Romero got the Gaels within two, but Claremont quickly answered to lead 14-11 with Elmore being disqualified with three ejections. Lloyd found the back of the net with 2:21 left, but the Gaels could not capitalize on several scoring chances in the closing-minutes rally.
While disappointed with the narrow loss, head coach Brian Kelly saw “major signs of improvement” against a tough West Coast opponent.
“We played one of our better games of the season against a very good Claremont team,” Kelly said. “We had several opportunities to increase our lead and win the game in the fourth quarter, but we missed wide-open opportunities. We showed major signs of improvement in this game. Hopefully, it will continue throughout the trip.”
Next the Gaels compete in the two-day Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament. Iona will face Pomona-Pitzer College Friday at 3:40 pm (all times EST), and Chapman College at 7:40 pm. On Saturday, Iona takes on Fresno Pacific at 1:00 pm, and California Lutheran College at 5:00 pm, before heading home.
