Loudonville, NY – The Iona College Women's Water Polo program opened MAAC Play at Siena College, falling to Marist 7-5 and topping VMI 8-6. The Gaels received strong play in net by Jordin Hale and Britten Vilander, as well as offensive prowess from Hannah Schultz, Kayla Allen and Jordan Van Reeken.
 
Game 1: Marist 7, Iona 5
 
The morning contest saw a tightly contested battle with Marist, but the Maroon & Gold were unable to find an offensive groove in the second half, falling the Red Foxes 7-5. Van Reeken netted two goals on eight shots and Allen notched two on six shots.
 
In net, Hale and Vilander alternated between quarters with Hale totaling eight saves and allowing three goals while Vilander made four saves and allowed four.
 
Allen scored the team's first goal with just under four minutes gone by, but the Red Foxes tallied the next two, taking a 2-1 lead after eight minutes.
 
The second quarter began with Joshi knotting the score at 2-2, but the Maroon & Gold allowed three unanswered goals before the halftime horn sounded.
 
Iona was stout defensively in the third quarter, receiving a pair of goals from Van Reeken and holding off Marist until 24 ticks left on the lock. The Gaels trailed 6-4 going into the final frame and were held scoreless for the remainder.
 
Game 2: VMI 8, Iona 6
 
In a game that saw the teams trade goals on numerous occasions, Iona prevailed over Virginia Military Institute 8-6 on Saturday afternoon. Iona received a pair of goals from Laura Rockett, Allen and Schultz and a tally from Van Reeken and Karli Normand.
 
Hale shined in net, making 11 saves and allowing three goals and Vilander came up with four saves and conceding three.
 
Iona jumped on the scoreboard first, receiving a goal from Van Reeken, but allowed two more goals to VMI. Rockett knotted the score at towards the end of the frame as the teams were tied 2-2 after eight minutes.
 
Schultz and Rockett found the back of the net in the second quarter, but were answered by two more VMI goals as the teams remain deadlocked at 4-4 aft halftime.
 
For the third consecutive quarter, the Maroon & Gold scored the first goal, this one from Schultz. Normand connected with 4:30 remaining in the frame and it looked like the Gaels would take a two-goal lead going into the fourth by VMI netted one past Vilander with 32 seconds remaining to trim the Iona lead down to one, 6-5.
 
VMI netted the first goal of the fourth quarter, knotting the score at 6-6 before Allen put the Gaels back ahead for good just 10 seconds later. The Maroon & Gold killed off a VMI powerplay with 5:27 to go and later received a huge insurance goal from Allen to give Iona the 8-6 advantage.
 
Iona continues MAAC play tomorrow against VMI, slated for 12:00 PM