PRINCETON, NJ - Despite leading in the opening minutes and mounting a late-game three-goal rally, the Iona men's water polo team remained winless in NWPC play with a narrow 14-10 loss to number-17-ranked Princeton University Sunday at DeNuncio Pool.

Redshirt junior Philip Wachowski led the Gaels (6-24, 0-10 NWPC) with three goals. Sophomores  Patrick Hudak and sophomore Andrew Brozovic had two scores each, while junior Quinn Lloyd, sophomore Brett Hofer and freshman German Rodriguez hit one goal apiece. The Gaels dished out six assists with two each by senior co-captain Jason Hill and sophomore Dalton Hansten.

In goal, junior Jorge Andres Torres had nine saves on 24 Princeton shots and three steals.

On defense, the Gaels made two steals and blocked six Tigers shots. Iona drew nine Princeton kickouts, with three from Hudak, and were ejected eight times. The Gaels scored on three of eight man-up chances, while the Tigers capitalized on 4-6. Iona turned the ball over eleven times.

Rodriguez only needed 1:10 to put Iona up 1-0 on the Gaels first possession, but the Tigers answered on their next trip down the pool to knot the match at one with 6:33 left in the opening period. Princeton went up 2-1 on a five-meter penalty shot with 4:42 to go, then tacked on another score with 52 ticks left to lead 3-1 going into the second period.

The Gaels defense held the Tigers scoreless for the first 3:16 of the second period, until Princeton reeled off two straight scores within 42 seconds to go up 5-1 with 4:01 on the clock. Hofer started a 2-0 Iona run with 2:24 remaining, followed by Wachowski 1:02 later to pull the Gaels within two, 5-3. With four seconds remaining in the half, Princeton scored for a 6-3 intermission lead.

With 56 seconds gone into the third period, Hudak trimmed the home squad's lead to two 6-4. Princeton answered with three unanswered goals for a 9-4 edge with 3:09 remaining. The Gaels rebounded with their own 2-0 run with Wachowski's second score 39 seconds later, and Brozovic's goal to narrow the gap to three 9-6 with 1:26 to go. A Princeton goal 24 ticks later gave Princeton a 10-6 lead going into the final period.

In the final quarter, each squad tallied four goals, including Iona's three-goal rally. The Tigers opened with two straight goals to go up 11-5 with 1:30 gone. Wachowski's third goal got Iona back within five 12-7 with 5:46 left, but Princeton scored on its next possession for a 13-7 lead. 

In the closing 2:50, the Gaels mounted a three-goal rally. After Wachowski drew a five-meter penalty, Hudak buried the ball in the back of the net to cut the Tigers lead to 13-8. On Iona's next possession, Brozovic nailed a man-up chance, then Lloyd scored on the Gaels next trip down the pool to get back within three 13-10 with 1:23 left, but Princeton stalled, then scored with 24 ticks left to seal the win.

While pleased with his squad's overall effort, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed with some key defensive lapses. "We played a solid game against one of the best teams in the country," Kelly said.  "Unfortunately, our team defense broke down a few times in critical situations and Princeton capitalized.'

The Gaels travel to Fordham University on Saturday to battle the Rams for the Judge Memorial Cup at 7 p.m. Sixth-seeded Iona will face third-seeded Princeton again in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 NWPC Tournament on Friday, November 16 at 2:00 PM at Brown University in Providence, RI.