Courtesy of Dr. Jack Breslin
CLAREMONT, CA - The Iona College men's water polo team continued play on the west coast with the first two contests of the four-game Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament Friday. In the first game of the day, the Gaels fell to Pomona-Pitzer before falling to Chapman 17-13 in the nightcap.
In the second game of the day against Chapman, senior Jake Lloyd led the Gaels with four goals, while senior Ian Thompson had three scores and drew four Panther kickouts. Senior Kyle Elmore and junior Zach Presto hit two goals each, and junior Gerardo Sanchez Rivera and sophomore Elerick Curet had one apiece. Senior goalie Mike Pufunt recorded nine saves.
Iona quickly opened a 3-0 lead with Lloyd's three unanswered scores, including a five-meter penalty shot. Chapman hit two straight to narrow the Iona lead to 3-2. But Thompson's goal increased the lead to 4-2, before the Panthers answered with 1:28, making the score 4-3 Iona as the first period ended.
Chapman scored three unanswered goals to tie the game and move ahead 6-4 until Elmore's second goal got Iona back on the board 6-5 with 5:37 left in the first half. Chapman increased its lead to 7-5 before two straight goals by Elmore and Thompson tied the score at seven at the end of the half.
Seventeen seconds into the third period, Chapman retook the lead 8-7, then Thompson's third goal 13 ticks later tied the match at eight. Meanwhile, Elmore was disqualified for misconduct. Chapman hit two unanswered scores to take a 10-8 lead with 3:48 left. Thirteen seconds later, Lloyd's fourth goal narrowed the Panthers' lead to 10-9. The teams traded goals with Curet scoring for Iona, but Chapman still lead 11-10.
In the fourth period, Chapman outscored Iona 5-3 for the win as Presto scored twice and Rivera once for the Gaels.
Against the Sagehens, Elmore and Lloyd led the Gaels with three goals each. Freshman Zach Roper had two scores, while Presto, sophomore Chris Ellis, Thompson, and senior James Ramaley scored one each. Junior goalie Matt McCrudden recorded ten saves and a steal. The Gael offense took 33 shots on goal, and Ramaley assisted on three goals. Thompson drew a team-high three kickouts in the game.
Pomona-Pitzer hit three unanswered goals in the opening three minutes, before two goals by Elmore and Thompson pulled the Gaels within one 3-2 as the first period ended.
In the first minute of the second period, two Sagehen goals gave the hosts a 5-2 edge. But the Iona offense clicked for four unanswered goals to tie the game, then take the lead. After Presto and Lloyd hit the back of the net, Elmore's break-away goal tied the match at five with 3:10 to halftime. Ellis put the Gaels ahead for the first time, 6-5, with 2:21 to go, but the hosts retied the score at six 31 seconds later. With 34 seconds left, Ramaley gave the Gaels a 7-6 halftime advantage.
With a minute gone in the third, the Sagehens tied the match at seven, before three straight goals gave Iona its largest lead, 10-7, with 4:18 left. Roper scored twice, followed by Elmore, when two unanswered Pomona-Pitzer goals trimmed the Iona lead to 10-9 as the third quarter ended.
Just 34 seconds into the final period, Pomona-Pitzer tied the score at 10, before Iona regained the lead 11-10 on Lloyd's third goal 25 ticks later. The feisty Sagehens would not go away, however, and tied the match for the fifth time 11-11. Lloyd hit again to put the Gaels back on top 12-11 with 5:08 left in regulation. But Pomona-Pitzer would prove too much, as the hosts scored three straight for a 14-12 win.
In spite of his team's three road losses on this annual California trip, head coach Brian Kelly still has confidence that his squad can pick up two Saturday wins.
“Despite the fact that we're 0-3 on the trip, we could very easily be 3-0,” Kelly said. “We've been tied, winning or down one late in the fourth quarter of all these games.
“We just have to step up and pressure situations,” added Kelly. “Sometimes that requires you to be more patient with your shot selection, and just stick to what you're successful at.”
Before heading home Saturday night, Iona takes on Fresno Pacific at 1:00 pm, and California Lutheran College at 5:00 pm (both times EST).
