CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Iona College women's water polo team (2-8) dropped its final two contests at the CWPA/MAAC Crossover at Harvard University Sunday. In the opener, Iona fell to No. 9 Princeton 13-5. The Gaels then dropped a 13-7 matchup to the host Crimson later in the day.
Despite the Maroon & Gold's slow start, head coach Brian Kelly feels confident his squad has the talent and experience “to turn things around” as the conference schedule approaches.
“It's been a rough start to the season - our record speaks for itself,” Kelly said. “Thankfully, we have the talent and championship experience to turn things around. We have to work harder.”
Against the Tigers, the Gaels trailed by just two at half, but were held scoreless in the second half.
Senior Amy Olsen led the Gaels with three goals and a blocked shot, while senior Erika Lauraitis and senior Sarah Hanly scored one each. Senior goalie Marisa Gaynor had seven saves and one steal.
Just 16 seconds into the match, Princeton scored, then Hanly answered 45 ticks later to tie the game at one. Two straight Tiger goals put Princeton up 3-1 with 5:37 left in the opening period. Olsen hit her first goal at the 3:07 mark to pull Iona within one 3-2, and then hit the back of the net again with 1:40 to go. Princeton hit two goals to lead 5-3 going into the second period.
In the second quarter, Princeton upped its edge to 6-3, then Olsen hit her third goal at 4:56 to pull Iona within two. With 3:25 to halftime, Princeton scored, but Lauraitis' goal 34 seconds later narrowed the gap to 7-5 at intermission. Princeton outscored Iona 3-0 in the third period for a 10-5 advantage at the start of the final quarter. Iona failed to score in the fourth period, while Princeton added three unanswered goals.
The Gaels came into the contest against Harvard hoping to avenge two overtime losses earlier this month but were unsuccessful to take down the host for the third time this season.
Lauraitis led Iona with five goals in the contest. Junior Katie Stelnicki and sophomore Taylor Silva had one goal each. Sophomore Megan Mahoney forced fourth Crimson ejections. Gaynor had 10 saves and four steals.
Lauraitis put Iona on the board only 45 seconds into the match. Harvard answered with four straight goals for a 4-1 lead with 1:12 left in the opening period. Stelnicki tossed in a rebound to pull the Gaels within two 4-2 as the first quarter ended.
Thirty-four seconds into the second quarter, Lauraitis hit her second goal narrowing the Crimson edge to 4-3. Harvard hit two straight goals for a 6-3 lead with 4:14 left in the second quarter. But Lauraitis answered with two straight of her own to pull the Gaels within one 6-5 at intermission.
Harvard upped its edge to 7-5 with 6:23 gone in the third. Lauraitis hit her fifth score to put Iona back to within one 7-6 at the 3:52 mark. The Crimson scored with 53 ticks left for an 8-6 lead going into the final period. Silva scored Iona's only goal in the fourth period, as Harvard outscored 5-1 to assure the win.
Iona returns to Cambridge, MA for the Harvard Invitational March 8-9 to face Brown, Princeton, and San Diego State.
