PROVIDENCE, RI - Despite a strong second-half, the Iona men's water polo team could not overcome an 11-1 halftime deficit and fell 16-7 to No 3 seed Princeton in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship hosted by Brown University.

Redshirt junior Philip Wachowski led the Gaels (6-26) with two goals. Senior co-captain Jason Hill, junior Quinn Lloyd, sophomore Brett Hofer, sophomore Patrick Hudak and freshman German Rodriguez scored one goal each for Iona.

In the first half, junior goalie Jorge Andres Torres made seven saves on 17 Princeton shots, while allowing 11 Princeton goals, and made one steal. In the second half, junior goalie Michael Banks made eight saves on 13 Princeton shots, while allowing four goals, and making grabbing one steal.

On defense, Iona nabbed seven steals, and Lloyd blocked one shot. The Gaels drew 12 Tigers kickouts, while being ejected 11 times, including three five-meter penalty shots. Junior Dalton Hansten was disqualified with three ejections. Iona turned the ball over 12 times. The Gaels scored four goals on 10 man-up chances, while the Tigers capitalized on 6-7 chances.

With 57 seconds gone in the match, Princeton scored after Torres was ejected. The Tigers followed with two consecutive goals in the next 1:18 for a 3-0 lead with 5:45 left in the opening period. Holding the Gaels offense scoreless, the Tigers tacked on four more scores, including a man-up goal, for a 7-0 advantage going into the second period.

Princeton scored on its first possession of the second quarter 39 seconds in to go up 8-0. When Hansten picked up this third ejection on a five-meter penalty, the Tigers went up 9-0 with 5:10 left. Over the next 1:32, Torres blocked two straight Princeton five-meter penalty shots. The Tigers capitalized on a man-up chance with 1:52 left, but Hofer did the same to end the Gaels offensive drought 1:05 later, which cut the Princeton lead to 10-1. Princeton added a goal with ten ticks left for 11-1 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, each squad scored three goals. On their first second-half possession, the Tigers scored on a 6-5 edge, then Wachowski answered with 6:23 left as Princeton led 12-2. Iona continued to chip away the Princeton lead as Hudak scored on a man-up chance 1:05 later. The Tigers scored with 2:47 remaining, but Hill took advantage of another Gael man-up chance to get Iona back within ten 14-4 just 42 seconds later.

Iona outscored Princeton 3-1 in the final period. After Princeton scored on its first fourth-quarter possession with 20 ticks gone, Iona reeled off three unanswered goals with Lloyd, Wachowski, and Rodriguez finding the back of the net for Iona.

Despite the Gaels slow start, Iona assistant coach Joe Przekota complimented the squad's second-half offense as a positive sign for tomorrow's match. "We came out a little late in the first quarter having early turnovers," Przekota, a former Gael All-American. "Then as the game progressed, we were able to rally to finish on a positive note going into our next game."

Iona concludes the season tomorrow with a chance at fifth place against MIT beginning at 1:00 PM