BRONX, NY - The Iona College men's water polo team capped off a Saturday double-header with a thrilling 14-13 victory against Mercyhurst at Fordham. The nightcap saw the Iona Gaels and Mercyhurst Lakers go back and forth, with the Maroon and Gold ultimately coming out with a one goal victory. Senior Matthew Rothman led all goal scorers, posting four goals on eight shots. Junior Zach Roper also tallied a hat trick to go along with two steals.
Mercyhurst opened up the scoring with 5:44 remaining in the period. Roper knotted the score after a strike with 4:09 left. The Lakers retook the lead with 2:52 remaining before Roper netted his second of the game 56 seconds later. The Maroon and Gold took a two goal in the final minute with goals from senior Hudson Grieve and Patrick Judge, giving the Gaels a 4-2 lead going into the second frame.
Fifty-Six ticks into the second quarter, the Lakers cut the Iona lead to 4-3. From there, the Gaels tallied a trio of goals to mark their largest lead of the contest 7-3. Iona receieved goals from Judge with 6:46 remaining, followed by a goal from Rothman 32 seconds later. Quinn Lloyd later found the back of the net with 5:18 remaining. Mercyhurst was back on the board 51 seconds later to bring the score 7-4. After the teams traded shots off the post, junior Jonathan Hulbert scored to put the Gaels back up by four. The Lakers found the back of the net again before freshman Cullen Seipp gave the Gaels a 9-5 lead. Iona took a 9-6 lead heading into halftime.
Rothman continued his stellar performance, scoring 52 seconds into the third frame. Three goals by Mercyhurst in the span of 1:04 to cut the Iona lead to 10-9. Roper haulted the rally, putting the Gaels back up by two with 4:04 remaining. After an exclusion Roper, Mercyhurst scored on the powerplay. The Lakers later scored on a penalty shot to knot the score at 11-11, a score that would hold up when the third period hit zeros.
The Lakers found themselves ahead for the first time since 2:52 remaining in the first quarter, scoring their 12th goal of the game 1:02 into the final frame. Following a timeout called by head coach Brian Kelly, Roper tied the score at 12-12. Grieve found the back of the net 45 ticks later to put the Gaels back ahead. With 3:03 remaning, the Lakers scored once more to knot the score for the final time. Rothman tallied the game-winning tally with 1:38 remaining to give the Gaels a 14-13 lead. Following the teams trading timeouts, freshman Jorge Andres Torres stonewalled the Lakers in the final ticks, securing an Iona victory.
The Maroon and Gold are back in the pool tomorrow morning as they host Salem International at the Hynes Center at 11:00 AM.
