POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Despite a hard-fought offensive and defensive battle that saw three ties, the third-seeded Iona women's water polo lost its bid for a fourth consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in a close 12-10 loss to second-seed Marist College Saturday afternoon at McCann Natatorium.
MAAC Offensive Player of the Year senior Amy Olsen and junior Katie Stelnicki led the Gaels with three goals each. Senior Sarah Hanly hit two fourth-period goals, while senior Hannah Cross and junior Taylor Silva added one goal each. Senior goalie Marisa Gaynor recorded seven saves and two steals. On defense, Olsen grabbed four steals and drew three Marist kickouts.
With 2:04 gone in the match, Stelnicki gave the Gaels (15-16) a 1-0 lead on a 6-5 advantage, but the Red Foxes tied the game 14 seconds later, then went ahead 2-1 with 2:12 left in the first quarter. But Olsen tied the game at two only ten ticks later.
Marist hit two unanswered goals to open the second quarter to build a 4-2 edge by the 5:36 mark. Stelnick's long lob cut the Red Fox edge to 4-3 just 35 seconds later. Marist hit two more consecutive goals to pull ahead 6-3 with 1:39 to the half. With 29 seconds left in the second period, Silva got the Gaels back within two 6-4.
Iona rallied in the third period to outscore Marist 3-2 on goals by Olsen, Cross and Stelnicki. Just 1:22 into the period, Olsen's second goal cut the Marist lead to 6-5, but the Red Foxes answered 17 seconds later to two-goal edge. Scoring on two straight 6-5 advantages, Stelnicki hit the back of the net, followed by Cross, who tied the game at seven with 1:11 left in the third. Marist scored 11 seconds later, however, to regain the lead 8-7 going into the final period.
With 5:31 gone in the final period, Marist tacked on another score for a two-goal 9-7 edge, but Hanly's second score pulled Iona back within one 9-8 just 18 ticks later. Marist hit two straight goals, however, for a three-goal lead with 3:32 left in regulation. Seventeen seconds later, Hanly scored on a 6-5 advantage to trim the home squad's lead to 11-9.
Marist regained its three-goal lead 12-9 with 2:59 to go as the Iona fans hoped for another come-from-behind Gael rally. Olsen answered their cheers with her third goal 1:04 later, but Iona could not take advantage of its last-minute chances to score.
Although disappointed with his first semi-final championship loss in seven years, Iona head coach Brian Kelly praised his squad's play.
“We fought hard; we fought the good fight,” Kelly said. “We played a really good game, and we put away our player-advantage situations. They just outplayed us.”
Iona takes on fourth-seed Villanova at noon Sunday afternoon in the consolation game.
