BLOOMGINTON, IN – The Iona Women's Water Polo program continued it's early road slate with defeats to No. 14 UC Santa Barbara and No. 12 Indiana on Sunday.
Game 1: UC Santa Barbara 13, Iona 2
In the morning contest, the Maroon & Gold struggled to find offensive consistency, falling 13-2.
Megan Hofer and
Jordan Van Reeken tallied the team's only goals.
Britten Vilander made three saves in three quarters, while
Jordin Hale made four saves in the final frame.
Despite the score, Iona outshot the opposition 26-24. UC Santa Barbara were 2-7 on the powerplay, both of which were scored on five-meter penalty shots.
Hannah Schultz totaled a team-best 10 shots and two steals. Laura Rocket added a pair of shots alongside
Carli Tovar.
Kayla Allen, added a goal and a steal in the contest.
Game 2: Indiana 17, Iona 8
Iona struggled in the second half against a strong Indiana Hoosiers squad, ultimately falling 17-8. Allen scored a team-high four goals, while
Devika Joshi tallied a hat-trick in the contest. Schultz added one goal on six shots.
Vilander made six saves in net with one steal in 24 minutes of action. Hale allowed four goals and made two stops.
Iona was outshot 34-21, and capitalized on five-of-eight power plays.
The Gaels came out hot against No. 12 Indiana, trading goals with the Hoosiers in the first frame. After the host scored the game's first tally 72 ticks in, Allen found the back of the net 32 seconds later. Joshi answered goals from the opposition as the teams went into the second quarter knotted at three.
Indiana opened the scoring in the second quarter but was once again answered by Joshi. The Hoosiers tallied the next three goals before Schultz notched her lone score of the game to bring the Gaels within two, 7-5. The Hoosiers would score three unanswered goals, including two in the final minute, as the Gaels went into the break down five, 10-5.
The third quarter saw the Maroon & Gold's deficit increase, as the Hoosiers rolled to three more scores before Allen scored her second of the game.
Indiana scored the fourth quarter's first two tallies but was answered by Allen with 3:39 remaining to bring the score to 15-6 in favor of the host team. Allen scored her fourth and final tally with 50 seconds remaining.
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The Maroon & Gold continue hit the road again next weekend for a trio of contests in Rhode Island against Cal Baptist, Brown and Hartwick beginning Friday at 8:30 PM.
