BROOKLYN, NY – Fueled by eleven goals by senior tri-captain Amy Olsen and ten goals from senior tri-captain Erika Lauraitis, the Iona College women's water polo team ended its regular season with two conference wins Sunday afternoon at SFC Aquatic Center. The day began with a 17-2 win over host St. Francis College followed by a 22-8 runaway victory over Virginia Military Institute.
The Gaels finish their regular season with an overall record of 14-15 and 9-3 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for a third-place finish. As the third seed in the MAAC Championships at Marist College April 25-26, Iona will face the host Red Foxes in the semifinal.
Olsen finishes the regular season with 100 goals, becoming the first player in MAAC and Iona water polo history to record two 100 goal seasons, following the 102 she scored a year ago.
In the first match against host Terriers, Olsen led the Gaels with five goals, while Lauraitis scored four. Senior Hannah Cross, sophomore Meghan Mahoney and sophomore Rebecca Mathews hit two, and senior Georgina Lee and freshman Darby Nevins added one goal. Senior tri-captain goalie Marisa Gaynor recorded two saves in the first half, and sophomore goalie Dana Delucchi had five in the second half.
Olsen put the Gaels on the board first only eight seconds into the game. Lauraitis hit two unanswered goals within 12 seconds of each other to give Iona a 3-0 lead with 6:52 left in the first period. Lauraitis and Olsen hit two more goals each, while Mahoney and Matthews added one each for an 9-0 Iona lead going into the second period. Iona outscored St. Francis 5-1 in the second quarter for a 13-1 halftime advantage on two goals each from Olsen and Cross.
In the third quarter, Lee, Matthews and Mahoney each hit the back of the net putting the Gaels up 16-2 as the final period began. Nevins added another goal for Iona in the fourth period.
In the win over VMI, Olsen led Iona with six goals and Lauraitis hit five. Junior Katie Stelnicki had three goals, while Mahoney, junior Jordan Carmody and senior Sarah Hanly hit two each, and sophomore Dana Andrea had one goal. In addition to scoring a goal, Gaynor recorded seven saves.
With eleven seconds gone in the second match, Lauraitis gave Iona a 1-0 lead, but VMI tied the game 14 ticks later. Capitalizing on two man-up advantages, Olsen and Lauraitis hit two unanswered goals for a 3-1 Gael led with 5:05 left in the first quarter. VMI narrowed the gap to 3-2 at the 4:29 mark, then the Gaels reeled off four straight scores – three by Olsen, one by Stelnicki – to lead 7-2 at the end of the first quarter.
In the opening two minutes of the second quarter, Mahoney and Olsen gave Iona a 9-2 lead, until the Keydets scored with 6:05 left to halftime. VMI answered with two goals, then Lauraitis hit her third score, and Gaynor's full-pool shot found the back of the VMI goal putting Iona up 11-4 with 3:55 to go in the second period. But VMI hit a goal with 2:37 lead to trim the Gael advantage to 11-5 at halftime.
In the second half, the Gaels hit three straight goals (Lauraitis two, Hanly one) in the opening two minutes of the third quarter. Iona then outscored VMI 5-2 in the third quarter and 6-1 in the fourth quarter for the win.
Head coach Brian Kelly praised his squad's improvement, especially a quick attack and stingy defense.
“Probably our best single day of the season in regards to starting the game,” Kelly said. “Coming out 9-0 in the first quarter on St. Francis and 7-2 on VMI was a direct result of excellent defense.”
Despite an up-and-down season, Kelly is positive about the Gaels' chances for a fourth straight MAAC crown.
“We are looking forward to MAAC play in two weeks. We're a confident group with championship experience and we've been there before.”
