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NEW ROCHELLE, NY - After being down four goals to No. 20 Fordham University halfway through the third quarter, the Iona men's water polo team outscored the Rams 6-1, including the winning goal by sophomore Quinn Lloyd with 32 seconds left, for a 11-10 upset victory to take back the Judge Cup before a capacity crowd at Hynes Pool tonight. This was Iona's first win over a nationally ranked opponent this season.

Freshman Patrick Hudak led Iona (7-16, 1-6 NEWPC) with five goals, while seniors Patrick Judge and Marc Stauble had two scores each.   Senior Zach Roper and Lloyd scored one goal apiece.

Sophomore goalie Sebastian Van Reeken had 15 saves on 30 Fordham (14-6, 4-1 MAWPC) shots, three steals and one assist.

On defense, Iona made ten steals and blocked four shots. The Gaels drew five Fordham kickouts, while being ejected nine times. Iona scored once on four man-up chances, and Fordham scored once on nine. The Gaels turned the ball over 24 times.

With 1:14 gone in the opening period, Fordham got on the board first, but Hudak's first score knotted the match at one just 1:04 later. The Rams needed only 11 seconds to go back up 2-1 on their next possession. Iona tied the score at 2-2 on Hudak's second score with 5:19 left in the first period. Two unanswered Fordham goals gave the Rams a 4-2 lead with 2:28 on the clock. 19 ticks later, Roper pulled Iona within one 4-3 going into the second quarter.

Only 1:44 into the second period, Stauble tied the game for the third time at three goals apiece. Two straight Ram scores increased the visitors' lead to 6-4 at the 2:29 mark.  Patrick Judge trimmed the Fordham edge to one 6-5 with only 51 seconds to intermission.

After three consecutive Ram goals in the opening 3:44 of the third quarter, the Gaels got back within three 9-6 on Hudak's third score with 4:01 to go, which began a three-goal Iona rally. Patrick Judge hit his second goal with 1:53 left, then on the Gaels next possession, Hudak's fourth score cut the Ram lead to one 9-8 with 1:28 remaining.

The visitors went up 10-8 with 1:44 gone in the fourth quarter. Iona got back within one 10-9 when Roper drew a five-meter penalty shot which Stauble buried into the back of the net with 5:59 to go. Neither squad managed a score until Hudak's fifth goal knotted the game for the fifth time at ten with 1:39 left in regulation. On their next possession, Fordham attempted to score on a man-up advantage, but Van Reeken's save gave Iona the ball back with 1:01 left. Twenty-one ticks later, Van Reeken stopped a Ram breakaway, heaved the ball to senior Matthew Rothman, who dished off to Lloyd for the game-winning goal with 32 seconds on the clock. The Iona defense sealed the win as Fordham failed to get off a shot in the closing seconds.

While Iona head coach Brian Kelly was pleased with his squad's overall effort, he credited "tremendous" goaltending as the key to tonight's win. "We made some halftime adjustments and our defense really picked up," Kelly said. "Sebastian was tremendous in goal, and he set the tone. Our goaltending has been carrying us all season. Tonight was another example of that."

In taking back the Judge Cup, after Fordham's win last year, the Gaels evened the annual series at three wins each. The Judge Cup is named after Dr. Francis X. 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: Iona volunteer assistant coach Greg '84 (HOF '03), 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 seniors Patrick and Andrew Judge are the grandsons of Dr. Judge.

In three Northeast Water Polo Conference matches this weekend, the Gaels travel to Cambridge, MA, to face the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.  On Sunday, Iona takes on Harvard University at 9 a.m., and Brown University at 2:30 p.m. in Providence, RI.