LA JOLLA, CA – Facing stiff nationally ranked competition, the Iona women's water polo team dropped two matches today with a 12-1 loss to No. 4 CWPA-ranked University of California Los Angeles Bruins and a 13-5 loss to the No. 12 Indiana University Hoosiers in the first two rounds of the 2018 Triton Invitational hosted by the University of California Da. 

Iona 1 UCLA 12

Despite a valiant defensive effort, Iona (1-8 overall) fell 12-1 to the number-four ranked UCLA Bruins in this morning's first-round game.

Senior Megan Hofer scored the Gaels lone goal unassisted on 23 Bruins shots.

In goal, senior Britten Vilander made six saves and four steals on 22 UCLA shots.

On defense, the Gaels made eight steals and two blocks. Iona did not score on three man-up opportunities, while UCLA capitalized on two-of-four. The Gaels turned the ball over seven times. The Gaels drew three Bruins kickouts, while being ejected four times.   
      
UCLA struck first with 2:30 gone in the match, followed with another goal 1:44 later for a 2-0 edge with 3:46 to go. The Bruins scored on their next two possessions for a 4-0 lead going into the second quarter.

Neither team scored in the second quarter until UCLA went up 5-0 with 1:46 to go, then tacked on another goal for a 6-0 lead at intermission as the Gaels failed to score in the first half. On defense, the Gaels stopped the Bruins from scoring on three man-up chances in the second period.

Two unanswered UCLA goals in the opening 1:55 of the third quarter gave the Bruins an 8-0 lead with 6:05 on the clock. After the Bruins went up 9-0, Hofer put the Gaels on the board with 1:04 remaining. UCLA padded its lead to 10-1 with 34 ticks left in the third quarter. Two more unanswered Bruin goals in the fourth period sealed their 12-1 win.

Iona 5 Indiana 12

Down by only two goals at the end of the first period, Iona was outscored 6-2 in the second quarter, and failed to rally in the second half against Indiana, who previously defeated Iona 17-8 in Bloomington, IN, at the Hoosier Invite on January 28.

Senior Kayla Allen and freshman Jordan Van Reeken led Iona with two goals each, while senior Hannah Schultz added one goal.

In goal, Vilander made seven saves on 15 Indiana shots, and redshirt sophomore Jordin Hale made five steals on 12 shots.

On defense, the Gaels collected five steals with two each from Allen and senior Devika Joshi. The Gaels drew 10 Hoosiers kickouts with three by Van Reeken, and were ejected five times. Iona turned the ball over twice and scored on two of ten man-up chances, while Indiana scored on three-of-five.

Indiana stuck first just 39 seconds into the match, then Allen capitalized on the Gaels second man-up advantage to tie the score at one with 4:21 left in the first period. Two straight Hoosiers goals, including a man-up score, gave Indiana a 3-1 edge going into the second quarter.

In the opening 2:33 of the second period, Indiana off three consecutive goals, until Allen struck from five-meters to pull Iona within four 6-2 with 5:27 on the clock. The Hoosiers scored on their next possession and on a 6-5 advantage to lead 8-2 with 1:52 left. Forty-four seconds later, Schultz slammed the ball into the back of the net, but Indiana answered for 9-3 advantage at intermission. 

Indiana upped its lead to 10-3 just 47 seconds into the third period with Hale replacing Vilander in goal. With 2:29 on the clock, the Hoosiers added another goal for a 11-3 advantage going into the final period, as the Gaels failed to score in the third period.

In the final period, Iona outscored Indiana 2-1. The Hoosiers took a nine-goal lead 12-3 with 36 ticks gone. In the remaining 5:12, Van Reeken hit two goals to trim the Hoosiers lead to 12-5 with 46 ticks to the buzzer.

While pleased with his squad's progress on defense, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed with the offense "not converting" on scoring opportunities.

"We're improving dramatically defensively," Kelly said. "We're doing a much better job in helping out our goalies, as opposed to the first two weekends of the season.  We need to be better offensively in finishing. We're getting a lot of high-quality chances that we're not converting on that are killing our momentum."

Iona will face Cal State East Bay at 12:20 EST tomorrow, followed by an afternoon contest.