NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's water polo team moved to 2-1 in CWPA Northern Division action with a 16-10 win over Fordham University Thursday evening at the Hynes Athletics Center.
"Tonight's win was aided by great, fast start," said head coach Brian Kelly. "Our starters did what they are supposed to do, and the contributions from the rest of the team put us over the top."
Senior Jake Lloyd led the Gaels with five goals in the win, while junior Zach Presto had four tallies. Senior James Ramaley had three assists and freshman Zach Roper recorded three points on one goal and two assists. Senior Ian Thompson and freshman Marc Stauble scored twice, while senior Eric Corley and sophomore Elerick Curet had one goal each.
Senior Mike Pufunt made the start for the Gaels, and made seven saves in the first and third quarters. Junior Matt McCrudden made 10 saves playing in the second and fourth.
After an early Fordham goal gave the Rams a 1-0 lead, Iona responded with a 6-0 run to end the first quarter and never looked back. Presto netted three of his goals in the first.
In the second quarter, the Rams trimmed their deficit to three, 7-4, before the Gaels ended the period on a 3-1 run. Roper's goal with 52 seconds remaining in the quarter pushed the Iona lead to five, 10-5, at the break.
Coming out of the half, the Gaels outscored the Rams 5-1 in the third. Lloyd's five-meter goal with one second remaining in the period gave Iona its biggest lead of the contest, 15-6.
In the fourth, Fordham put four goals across while Iona got its lone tally when Corley found the net for the first time this season.
The Gaels play their next two contests in Cambridge, MA, beginning Saturday against Harvard at 7:00 pm. The team wraps up the weekend at MIT Sunday at 10:00 am.
