PROVIDENCE, RI - Despite a hard-fought battle, the sixth-seeded Iona men's water polo squad ended its 2018 season with a 16-11 defeat to number-five Massachusetts Institute of Technology in this afternoon's fifth place match at the North East Water Polo Conference Championship hosted by Brown University.

Junior Quinn Lloyd led the Gaels with four goals (6-27), while sophomore Patrick Hudak scored three. Sophomore Brett Hofer, sophomore Andrew Brozovic, freshman German Rodriguez, and freshman Justin Ginsberg had one goal each. Iona had eight assists with three by senior co-captain Jason Hill in his final game as a Gael.

In goal, junior Jorge Andres Torres made nine saves on 25 MIT shots and nabbed two steals.

On defense, the Gaels had seven steals with three by Lloyd, while Hill also blocked a shot. Iona drew 11 MIT kickouts, while being ejected 10 times. Junior Dalton Hansten was disqualified with three ejections. The Gaels turned the ball over 14 times. Iona were 3-11 on man-up chances, while MIT went 4-7.

With 1:03 gone in the match, MIT struck first to go up 1-0, then added another goal on a 6-5 advantage for a 2-0 edge with 3:25 left in the opening period. Just 40 seconds later, Hofer put Iona on the board with a man-up goal to pull Iona within one 2-1. Two unanswered Engineers scores in the closing 1:36 gave MIT a 4-1 lead going into the second period.

Iona outscored MIT 6-5 in the second period. 40 ticks into the quarter, MIT tacked on its third straight goal to lead 5-1. On the Gaels next two possessions, two straight scores by Rodriguez and Hudak trimmed the Engineers edge to two, 5-3 with 5:24 remaining. 59 seconds later, MIT scored, but Lloyd answered on the Gaels next trip down the pool as Iona got within back two 6-4. Two consecutive goals increased MIT's lead to four 8-4, then Hudak and Brozovic mounted a two-goal run to cut the Engineer edge to 8-6 with 45 seconds left. MIT hit a five-meter penalty shot with just 22 seconds on the clock, but Ginsberg found the back of the net with one tick left as Iona trailed by just two 9-7 at halftime.

MIT needed only 29 seconds into the third quarter to mount a three-goal advantage, until Lloyd's second score 1:02 later cut the Engineers edge back to two 10-8. Two consecutive Engineers goals within 33 seconds upped their edge to 12-8 with 3:22 left. After Torres was ejected from the cage, MIT went up five 13-5 with 1:58 on the clock. Hudak's third score on a man-up edge put the Gaels back within four 13-9 with 1:04 left.    With four seconds remaining, MIT retook a five-goal lead 14-9 going into the final period.

Just 1:02 into the fourth quarter, in which both squads scored two goals, MIT enjoyed its largest lead 15-9. Lloyd's third goal 1:01 later trimmed the Engineer edge back to five 15-10. The Engineers hit a five-meter penalty shot at the 2:02 mark, followed by Quinn's fourth goal on a 6-4 advantage with 51 seconds left.

Despite ending a six-win season with a tough loss, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was optimistic about his squad's growth over the past four months for a strong 2019 campaign. "It was a tough year in terms of wins, but it was a successful year in terms of growth," Kelly said. "We're only graduating one senior, and literally everyone on our roster made significant contributions this season.  I'm excited about our direction."