BROOKLYN, NY - After a 17-8 opening match win over Siena College, the Iona women's water polo team lost 17-9 to Wagner College, therefore splitting a pair in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play this afternoon at St. Francis College.
GAME 1: Iona 17, Siena 8
After pulling ahead midway in the first period, the Gaels scored a 17-8 win over Siena in this afternoon's first match.
Sophomore Hannah Schultz led Iona with five goals, while senior Taylor Silva had three scores. Senior Rebecca Mathews and junior Darby Nevins scored two goals each. Senior Dana Andrea, sophomore Devika Joshi, sophomore Megan Hofer, sophomore Kayla Allen and sophomore goalie Britten Vilander had one score apiece. Andrea won all four swim-offs.
In addition to her goal, Vilander made nine saves, including stopping two five-meter penalty shots, one steal and two assists, while facing 26 Siena shots. On defense, Iona had eleven steals with two each by senior Sara Bortz, Nevins and Schultz, and together the Maroon & Gold drew ten Siena ejections.
With 34 seconds gone in the match, Siena scored on its first possession, but two straight goals from Schultz within the next 1:31 put the Gaels up 2-1 with 4:55 left in the opening period. Mathews gave Iona a two-goal lead on the Gaels next possession 25 ticks later. With 2:16 left, Siena trimmed Iona's lead to 3-2, but Silva answered to put the Gaels up 4-2 going into the second period.
On the Gaels first second-period possession, Silva scored her second goal, then Vilander found the back on the net from the other end of pool, as Iona went ahead 6-2 with 1:46 gone. Three unanswered Iona scores from Nevins, Schultz and Joshi gave the Gaels a 9-2 advantage, until the Saints scored to lead to 9-4 at intermission.
In the third period, Nevins and Andrea hit two unanswered goals to increase the Iona lead to 11-4 with 6:24 to go. The Saints scored on a 6-5 advantage, but Mathews and Allen answered for a 13-5 Gael cushion at the 2:58 mark. Two consecutive Saints goals in the closing 1:47 trimmed the Iona advantage to 14-7 going into the final period.
Iona closed out the win with four fourth-quarter goals – one each from Silva and Hofer, and two by Schultz – while holding the Saints to a single score.
GAME 2: Wagner 17, Iona 9
Trailing by only three goals at halftime, the Iona offense could only manage that many scores in the second half in a 17-9 loss to Wagner.
Senior Rebecca Mathews and junior Rebecca Koshy led Iona with three goals, while sophomore Hannah Schultz scored twice, and senior Taylor Silva had one goal.
In goal, freshman Jordin Hale has seven saves, three steals and one assist, while facing 26 Seahawks shots.
While Wagner capitalized on three of four man-up opportunities, Iona scored on only one of ten 6-5 advantages. On defense, the Gaels had two steals and no blocks, yet forced ten Wagner ejections, while being ejected only four times.
Neither squad managed a score until Mathew's goal put Iona on the board first with 2:10 gone in the match, but Wagner answered 32 seconds later to tie the game at one. Another Seahawks score with 3:43 gave Wagner a 2-1 edge, then Koshy retied the score at two 27 ticks later. Wagner reeled off four unanswered goals over the last 2:33 to lead 6-2 going into the second period.
Like the first period, both teams failed to score in the opening 2:46 until goals from Mathews and Silva pulled Iona within two 6-4 with 4:25 to go. Wagner answered 33 seconds later, then Koshy scored, followed by Mathews to get the Gaels within one 7-6 at the 2:05 mark. But the Seahawks hit two straight scores in the closing 1:45 for a 9-6 halftime advantage.
Again in the third, there was no scoring for the first 2:06, when Wagner upped its lead to 10-6. Just 14 ticks later, Schultz scored her first goal on five-meter penalty shot to get the Gaels back within three 10-7. On their next possession, the Seahawks struck again, but Schultz's lob cut the Wagner lead back to three 11-8 with 4:31 left. When Wagner scored with 1:21 left, Koshy needed only four seconds to make up the difference as Iona remained within three 12-9. With 21 ticks left, Wagner again capitalized on a 6-5 advantage to lead 13-9 going into the final period.
The Gaels failed to score in the fourth period. On their first two fourth-quarter possessions, the Seahawks hit two straight breakaway lobs to pull ahead 15-9 with 1:09 gone, then scored again with 2:42 left to seal the win.
Despite the win against Siena, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed in this team's inability to take advantage of man-up chances against both teams, especially first-place Wagner.
“We were awful on our six-on-fives all day – one for 15 in both games,” Kelly said. “We had plenty of chances to keep ourselves in the game if we converted some key power plays against Wagner. Every chance throughout the first three quarters that we had the chance to trim the lead to two or one, we turned the ball over. You can't go one for ten against a team like Wagner and expect to win.”
On Sunday, Iona faces Villanova University at 9 a.m., and Virginia Military Institute at 2:30 p.m.
