PRINCETON, NJ – Facing two nationally ranked opponents Saturday at the Princeton Invitational, the Maroon & Gold suffered defeats to No. 21 Harvard and No. 22 Princeton. Freshman Jordan Van Reeken continued her strong play, tallying four goals on the day.
 
Game 1: Harvard 15, Iona 7
 
A strong second half by the Crimson was too much for the Gaels to overcome, falling to Harvard 15-7. Rookies Van Reeken and Kate Schmitt added a pair of goals, while the senior Devika Joshi scored twice and Kayla Allen connected for one goal.
 
In net, Britten Vilander made 11 saves and added three steals.
 
As a team, the Gaels drew 10 Harvard kickouts and were ejected seven times. Iona turned the ball over 15 times and drew only four steals.
 
The Crimson opened the scoring with just over a minute gone in the first frame but was answered just 21 seconds later by Van Reeken. After the opposition took back the lead, Joshi answered to knot the score at 2-2. Harvard scored the next four over the final 2:12 of the quarter as Harvard took a 6-2 lead into the second frame.
 
Iona outscored Harvard in the second quarter 2-0 with the tallies coming from the arms of Allen and Joshi respectively. The Gaels trailed by a pair, 6-4 after 16 minutes of action.
 
Harvard scored the first goal of the third quarter but was answered again by Van Reeken as Iona tried to claw it's way back. The Maroon & Gold could not find the answers to the Crimson defense for the remainder of the period, while conceding four goals and finding themselves down by four, 11-5 after three quarters.
 
The Crimson continued to roll early in the fourth quarter, scoring four more unanswered goals. Schmitt scored two goals in the final minutes to conclude Iona's scores.
 
Game 2: Princeton 13, Iona 5
 
The Maroon & Gold failed to muster any momentum against the host Princeton Tigers, falling 13-5 in the conclusion of the Princeton Invitational. Van Reeken totaled a team-high two goals and was followed by Megan Hofer, Joshi and Schultz whom each connected for a goal.
 
Jordin Hale received the start in goal, making nine saves and grabbing two steals.
 
The Gaels were ejected 11 times and drew eight kickouts.
 
Iona struggled in the first quarter, conceding four goals and failing to score. The problems continued in the second quarter with Iona allowing five more goals and scoring once from the arm of Allen. Iona found themselves down by eight, 9-1 going into the second half.
 
The third quarter saw the teams trade goals, with the latter coming from Hofer.
 
Iona and Princeton each scored three times in the fourth frame. Allen, Van Reeken and Schultz scored the Iona goals over the final 5:55.
 
The Gaels return to the Hynes Center on Friday for it's home-opener against Hartwick at 3:00 PM.