POUGHKEEPSIE, NY -- Recovering from only two goals in the first half, the Iona women's water polo team rallied with a 3-1 fourth quarter, but fell 11-8 to host Marist College in the second semifinal of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship this afternoon.
Four Gaels scored two goals each, all unassisted – senior Dana Andrea, junior Rebecca Koshy, and sophomores Hannah Schultz and Kayla Allen. In goal, freshman Jordin Hale had six saves facing 26 Marist shots. On defense, the Gaels (12-15 overall) made eight steals with three by senior Megan Mahoney. Iona drew seven Marist ejections, while being kicked out six times. The Gaels scored on eight of 35 shots. Iona scored on three of nine man-opportunities, while Marist capitalized on two of six.
Marist struck first on its second possession with 1:37 gone in the match, but Schultz ripped the net on a 6-5 advantage to tie the game with 5:47 left in the opening period. Marist scored just 20 tics later for a 2-1 edge. The Gaels failed to score for the rest of the quarter, as the Red Foxes added two consecutive goals to lead 4-1 going into the second period.
Only 22 seconds into the second quarter, the Red Foxes upped their lead to 5-1. After Schultz missed a breakaway shot in front of the net with 2:17, Marist struck 16 seconds later for a 6-1 advantage. With 50 seconds left in the first half, Allen scored on a 6-5 edge to narrow the Red Foxes lead to 6-2.
In the first half, the Gaels made only two of 17 shots, while Hale had four saves facing 14 Marist shots.
The Red Foxes scored with 1:37 gone in the third period, but Andrea pulled the Gaels within four 7-3 with 5:47 to go. Marist answered 22 seconds later to go back up by five 8-3. With 3:36 left, Koshy scored two straight goals within 29 ticks to narrow the Marist lead to 8-5. The Red Foxes scored twice in the remaining 2:08 for a 10-5 advantage going into the final period.
Holding the hosts scoreless until the final 36 seconds, the Iona offense rallied with three goals in the fourth period. With four minutes to go, Schultz hit her second goal to trim the Red Foxes' lead to 10-6. After a Marist ejection, Iona head coach Brian Kelly called time out, which resulted in Allen's second goal on a man-up opportunity, as the Gaels got within three with 2:31 left. Marist scored with 36 seconds remaining, and Andrea lobbed in a shot with 13 tics left in the match.
Disappointed that his five seniors, who went to the 2013 NCAA Championship as freshmen, will end their Iona careers with this semi-final loss, Kelly lamented the lack of offense, especially in the first half.
“We had a lot of good opportunities to score in the first half,” Kelly said. “We took a lot of quality shots in quality spots, but we had a lot of posts and their goalie was outstanding. You can't score two goals in a half and expect to win a semi-final game at MAAC Championships.”
Iona faces Villanova on Sunday at noon in the consolation match, as Marist takes on Wagner in the MAAC Championship at 2 p.m.
