BRONX, NY – Without a single first-half score, the Iona men's water polo team failed to defend its possession of the Judge Memorial Cup by falling 10-3 to arch-rival Fordham University tonight at the Messmore Aquatic Center.
Junior Jonathan Hulbert, junior Marc Stauble, and freshman Cullen Seipp scored one goal each for Iona (7-15). Freshman goalie Jorge Andres Torres made nine saves on 26 Fordham shots, and had two steals.
On defense, Iona made ten steals with three by Stauble. The Gaels committed 23 turnovers with seven by junior Zach Roper. The Gaels drew three Ram ejections, while being kicked out ten times.
Capitalizing on a 6-5 advantage, Fordham (11-11) got on the board first with 6:01 left in the opening period. Plagued by eight turnovers, the Gaels failed to score in the first quarter, as the Rams led 1-0 going into the second.
Just 25 seconds into the second period, Fordham upped its lead to 2-0, then scored again 2:22 later for a 3-0 advantage. Over the next 1:03, the hosts hit three more unanswered goals, while Iona could not manage a goal, for a 6-0 halftime edge.
Due to a foul on Roper, Fordham hit a five-meter penalty shot for a 7-0 lead with 25 seconds into third quarter. A Ram lob with 4:25 left in the third gave the home team an 8-0 advantage. Twenty-two seconds later, the Gaels finally found the back of net as Hulbert, with Seipp making the Gaels lone assist, scored on a 6-5 advantage. Cheered on by the Iona faithful, including the women's water polo team, Seipp struck for the Gaels second straight goal with 1:14 to go to trim the Rams lead to 8-2 going into the final quarter.
After Judge drew a five-meter penalty on a breakaway, Stauble beat the Fordham goalie to pull Iona with five 8-3 with 35 ticks gone in the fourth. The Rams scored two straight goals in the final 2:22 left to seal their 10-3 win for the Judge Memorial Cup.
“Tonight's game was a tough game, hard fought,” Iona assistant coach and All-American alumnus Joe Przekota said. “The team came out a bit overzealous and made a lot of mistakes early. We started to clean it up at the end. But it's hard to come back being eight goals down.
“I think this is a game we can use as a learning experience going forward. It's always tough to lose to a rival team like Fordham, but we're looking forward to playing Princeton in our pool.”
With tonight's win, Fordham leads the Judge Cup series 3-2, after Iona won for two straight seasons. The Cup is named after Dr. Francis Judge, a water polo pioneer at Fordham, and the founder of the Hudson Valley Water Polo Club.
He was the father of five Iona water polo players, including three Goal Club Hall of Famers: Greg '84 (HOF '03) and volunteer assistant coach, Matt '86 (HOF '09), Ray '87 (HOF '09), Mike '94 and Kevin '95. Chris '80 (Fordham HOF '96), his second oldest son, starred for Fordham, and also coached the team. Iona junior Patrick Judge is the grandson of Dr. Judge.
This weekend the Gaels will play three matches, two of those at home. Iona hosts Princeton University on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a Northeast Water Polo Conference match, then heads back to Fordham for a non-conference match against Mercyhurst College at 6:15 p.m. On Sunday, the Gaels celebrate Senior Day prior to a non-conference match at 11 a.m. against Salem International.
