Courtesy of Dr. Jack Breslin

CLAREMONT, CA – The Iona College men's water polo team completed play at the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament with a pair of one-point losses Saturday afternoon. The day began with a 15-14 loss to Fresno Pacific, before a 15-14 setback against Cal Lutheran.

Against Cal Lutheran, senior Jake Lloyd led Iona (2-11, 2-3 CWPA) with six goals, while senior Kyle Elmore hit three. Junior Zach Presto scored two goals, and senior Ian Thompson, senior Rafael Romero and sophomore Matthew Rothman had one each.

Cal Lutheran hit first with 15 seconds gone in the match, but Lloyd answered 15 ticks later to tie the score at one. With 5:35 left in the first quarter, Cal Lutheran scored again, before Lloyd's second goal knotted the game at two. The Kingsmen scored three unanswered goals to lead 5-2 with 3:37 to go. Lloyd's third goal narrowed the gap to 5-3, but Cal Lutheran hit two more goals to lead 6-2 at the first quarter's end.

Elmore's first goal 10 seconds into the second period trimmed the Kingsmen's lead to 7-4, but Cal Lutheran answered with 5:04 left for a 8-4 edge. A minute later, Elmore scored again, followed by a Cal Lutheran goal to make the score 5-4 with 2:31 to halftime. Gael goals from Thompson and Lloyd pulled Iona with two, but the Kingsmen scored with 38 ticks left for a 10-7 halftime advantage.

In the third period, Iona rallied to outscore Cal Lutheran 3-1. With 40 seconds gone, Elmore scored, followed by Romero at 3:57 to pull within one, 10-9. The Kingsmen upped their lead to 11-9, but Lloyd's two goals tied the score at 11 going into the final period.

Only 27 seconds into the fourth period, Rothman gave Iona its first lead, 12-11, but 38 ticks later, Cal Lutheran evened the score at 12. Presto gave Iona the lead back just 14 seconds later, but two straight Kingsmen goals put Cal Lutheran on top 14-13 with 4:36. Presto's second goal tied the match for the fifth time at 14. With 2:08 left in regulation, Cal Lutheran went up 15-14, and blocked several last-minute Iona tries to tie.

The loss to Fresno Pacific included ties and four lead changes. Lloyd and Elmore led the Gaels with four goals each, while Presto hit three scores. Junior Gerardo Sanchez Rivera, senior James Ramaley and sophomore Chris Ellis had one goal each. Senior goalie Mike Pufunt recorded three saves and junior goalie Matt McCrudden had five saves.

Fresno Pacific jumped out to a 2-0 lead until Elmore put Iona on the board with 4:09 left in the first quarter. Presto's skip shot tied the match at two 2:09 later. The Sunbirds retook the lead on a 6-5 advantage, but Lloyd's goal tied the score at three with 52 ticks to go. Twenty seconds later, Fresno Pacific scored for a 4-3 edge at the first period's end.

Only 53 seconds into the second period, Elmore tied the score for the fourth time, but Fresno Pacific retook the lead with 2:07 gone. Rivera tied the game 18 seconds later, but Fresno Pacific only needed ten seconds to go back up 6-5. Goals by Ellis and Remaley gave Iona its first lead, 7-6, with 3:05 left in the half. But two Sunbird goals put Fresno Pacific back in the lead with 1:35 to go. With only 15 second left, Lloyd's second goal tied the game at eight.

Fresno Pacific only needed 35 seconds to go back on top 9-8, until Elmore and Lloyd gave Iona the lead back with 4:03 left in the third quarter. However, two Sunbird scores had the same result for Fresno Pacific, who led 11-10 at the 2:27 mark. Elmore tied the game at 11 29 seconds later, but two scores put Fresno Pacific up 13-11 going into the final frame.

With goals by Lloyd and Presto, Iona tied the match at 13 with 2:42 left in regulation. The Sunbirds scored, but Presto tied the game at 14 22 seconds later. Fresno Pacific regained the lead for good with 1:53 remaining in the match.

While disappointed about not getting a road win on the five-match California trip, Kelly credited his squad for coming close to beating “very good” West Coast teams.

“It was a tough weekend full of a lot of tough endings,” Kelly said. “I'm extremely happy at how we were winning or tied in the fourth quarter of every game in this tournament versus five very good opponents.

“Every team we played this weekend has wins over nationally ranked teams or has been nationally ranked. We had a chance to win every game. Although we are playing our best water polo of these season right now, it's tough to view our play as successful when we leave here 0-5.”

The Gaels travel to Brooklyn this Wednesday evening to face St. Francis College in CWPA action at 7:30 p.m.