LA JOLLA, CA –  The Iona women's water polo team earned its second season win this afternoon with a 9-6 road victory over Sonoma State to wrap up a four-match trip at the 2018 Triton Invitational at the University of California San Diego, after falling to California State University East Bay 11-8 in this morning's match.

Iona 8 CSUEB 11

After taking a 3-0 lead in the opening two minutes, Iona (2-8 overall) fell behind in the second quarter on a 6-2 CSUEB run. The Gaels tied the game in the third period, but could not rally, after being down by one early in the fourth.

Senior Hanna Schultz led the Gaels with six goals on 11 shots. Senior Kayla Allen had two goals. Iona had two assists by Allen and freshman Jordan Van Reeken. In goal, senior Britten Vilander had eight saves on 26 Pioneers shots and two steals. 

On defense, the Gaels made two steals and drew 11 Pioneers kickouts, while being ejected 12 times. Freshman Laura Rockett was disqualified with three ejections. The Gaels scored on two of nine man-up opportunities, while the Pioneers made two goals on seven chances. Iona turned the ball over seven times.

Just eight seconds into the match, Allen put Iona on the board, followed by Schultz's first goal 20 seconds later on the Gaels next possession. After Allen drew a five-meter penalty shot, Schultz buried the ball into the back of net to give Iona a 3-0 lead with 1:46 gone. A Pioneer lob trimmed the Gaels lead to 3-1 with 3:21 left in the opening period. With a CSUES man-up goal at the 1:35 mark, Iona led 3-2 going into the second period.                                                                                                                                                                         
Allen's second goal 11 seconds into the second quarter put Iona up by two 4-2. Two unanswered Pioneers scores tied the match at four with 3:19 on the clock. Two straight Pioneers scores gave CSUEB a 6-4 lead with 1:14 left, but Schultz pulled Iona back within one 6-5 at intermission.

With 28 seconds gone in the third period, CSUEB went up 7-5, but two straight Schultz scores tied the game for the second time at seven with 5:40 on the clock. A five-meter penalty goal gave CSUEB the lead back 8-7 at the 2:58 mark. The Pioneers struck again with 11 ticks left for a 9-7 edge going into the final period.

Schultz's sixth goal on a five-meter penalty pulled the Gaels within one 9-8 with 6:15 left in regulation, but the Pioneers answered on their next possession for a 10-8 edge. A CSUEB goal with 26 seconds left sealed the win.
                 
Iona 9 Sonoma State 6

Despite being down 4-0 at the end of the first quarter, Iona rallied with a four-goal second half and scoreless defense to down Somona State 9-6 for the season's second win.

Senior Devika Joshi led the Gaels with three goals. Senior Megan Hofer and Allen each scored twice, while Schultz and Van Reeken had one goal apiece.

In goal, redshirt sophomore Jordin Hale had ten saves on 13 Sonoma shots and five steals.

On defense, the Gaels made 11 steals with Schultz and Van Reeken having two each. Van Reeken also blocked a Somona shot. Iona drew seven Somona kickouts with three by Schultz, and were ejected ten times. The Gaels turned the ball over seven times.

After surrendering four consecutive Sonoma State goals in the opening 4:26 of the match, Iona rallied with two straight scores. Allen got the Gaels on the board with 3:11 left in the opening period, then Hofer pulled Iona within two 4-2 at the 1:31 mark.

The Seawolves upped their lead to 5-2 with 4:24 on the clock, but Schultz trimmed that edge back to two 5-3 just 19 seconds later. On the Gaels next possession, Allen capitalized on a 6-5 advantage to pull Iona within one 5-4 at 4:09 to go. With 1:39 left in the half, Somona regained a two-goal lead 6-4, but Joshi answered with 42 ticks left to narrow the Seawolves lead back to one 6-5 at intermission.

On a four-goal second-half rally, the Maroon and Gold took a two-goal lead in the third quarter. Van Reeken tied the game at six with 3:48 gone. Hofer hit Iona's third straight goal to give the Gaels the lead 7-6 with 2:31 on the clock. On Iona's next possession, Joshi's second score upped the Gaels advantage to 8-6 with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Joshi's third goal sealed the win with 3:48 left in regulation.

With his squad being the only Eastern team competing in the tournament, Iona head coach Kelly praised his team's overall performance against tough competition, including two nationally ranked programs. "I like the way that we are competing," Kelly said. "The effort was fantastic all weekend. Once our execution matches the level of our effort, we are going to be very good."

The Gaels travel to Princeton next weekend for three matches in the 2018 Princeton Invitational. On Friday, Iona takes on George Washington at 6:45 p.m., Harvard on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., and Princeton at 4:45 p.m.