PRINCETON, NJ – The Iona College women's water polo team closed out a three-match weekend at the Princeton Invitation with a 14-3 victory over George Washington University for their its win of the season.
Senior Amy Olsen led Iona with five goals, while senior Erika Lauraitis, sophomore Meghan Mahoney, freshman Rebecca Koshy scored two each. Graduate student Allison Peotter, senior Sarah Hanly and freshman Darby Nevins hit one goal each. Koshy and Nevins' tallied were their first as Gaels.
Relieved with his squad's first win, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was confident that his veteran team learned from five losses, three against ranked opponents, and would continue to grow.
“It's good to get the first win of season out of the way,” said Kelly, who played this entire squad in the win. “We could easily be three and three right now, instead of one and five, but I'm not worried. We're a veteran team and we're a great team.
“Today was an all-around solid effort,” continued Kelly. "We're learning a lot about ourselves early and that will help us throughout the season.”
Shutting out the Colonials for three periods, senior goalie Marisa Gaynor recorded six saves and one assist, and sophomore goalie Dana Delucchi had one stop. The Gaels drew eight ejections with three by Mahoney and two by sophomore Rebecca Mathews.
Only 20 seconds into the match, Olsen put Iona on the board, followed by two goals from Lauraitis for a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period. In the second period, Iona continued to dominate on both sides of the ball with two Olsen goals and scores from Mahoney and Peotter giving the Gaels a 7-0 halftime advantage.
The Gaels tacked on four more goals in the third period to lead 11-0 with two goals from Olsen, and one each from Hanly and Nevins. Both teams scored three goals in the fourth period by two Gael goals from Koshy and one from Mahoney.
The Gaels next travel to Cambridge, MA, for the CWPA/MAAC Crossover with matches against George Washington and Bucknell on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Princeton and Harvard on Sunday, Feb. 23.
