ERIE, PA - Junior All-American Patrick Hudak scored 13 goals on 18 shots as the Iona men's water polo team rebounded from last night's loss with two non-conference wins over Mercyhurst University and Gannon University at Penn State University Behrend's Junker Center.

GAME ONE: Iona 16, Mercyhurst 12

Except for a first-quarter tie, Iona led the entire contest in today's first match for a 16-13 win over Mercyhurst University.

Hudak led the Gaels with five goals on eight shots, while junior Brett Hofer had three scores on five shots. Senior co-captain Phil Wachowski and sophomore Michael Feeley each had two goals each.  Senior Quinn Lloyd, redshirt-junior Daniel Savage, and second-years Justin Ginsburg and German Rodriguez made one score each.  The Gaels dished out 12 assists with four from freshman Lester Machado and three from Lloyd.  Iona scored 16 goals on 29 shots.

In goal, senior Jorge Andres Torres made 11 saves on 26 Mercyhurst shots.

On defense, the Gaels stole up four steals and Ginsburg blocked one shot. The Maroon & Gold drew 16 Mercyhurst kickouts, while being ejected four times. The Gaels scored on seven of 11 man-up chances, and the Lakers capitalized on two of four. Iona turned the ball over three times.

Mercyhurst got on the board first 29 seconds into the match. Hofer's skip shot goal 2:10 later, followed by Hudak's first score gave Iona a 2-1 lead with 4:43 remaining.  Hudak added another goal with 3:16 to but the Lakers pulled within one 3-2 on their next possession.  Two straight goals from Feeley gave Iona a 5-2 edge with 1:48 left  in the first. Mercyhurst answered with its own two-goal run to cut Iona's lead to one, but with 30 ticks remaining, Savage upped the Gaels lead back to two 6-4 heading into the second.

After junior Andrew Brozovic missed a five-meter penalty shot, the Lakers climbed back within one 6-5 with 5:35 left in the second period.  Forty-one seconds later, Lloyd's five-meter penalty goal sparked a 3-0 Gaels run with goals by Wachowski and Hofer. A four-goal, 9-5, Iona lead with 3:56 remaining lasted until two straight Mercyhurst goals in the closing 2:30 trimmed Iona's lead back to 9-7. Wachowski's last-second score put the Gaels up three heading into intermission.

Hudak's back-hand goal upped the Iona edge to four just 13 ticks into the third period.  After the Lakers got within three 11-8 with 4:10 left, Rodriguez took advantage of a 6-5 chance on the Gaels next possession for a 12-8 edge.  Hudak answered a Mercyhurst score with his fourth goal as Iona went up 13-9 with 1:49 to go.  With 53 seconds remaining, the Lakers scored, but Hofer's hat-trick score with five ticks left made it a 14-10 Iona lead going into the final period.

Hudak needed only 21 seconds into the fourth quarter for his fifth score. With 4:37 left, Ginsburg gave Iona its largest lead, 16-10. A three-goal Lakers rally in the closing 3:30 fell short as the Maroon and Gold held on for the win.

GAME TWO: Iona 16, Gannon 11

Continuing their strong offensive effort, Iona led by six twie, and never less than two in a 16-11 win over Gannon University in Saturday's second match.

Hudak led the Gaels with eight goals on ten shots, while Lloyd had four scores on four shots. Feeley, Rodriguez, Machado, and freshman Mohamed Refaat each had one goal. Iona made ten assists with a team-best from Ginsburg.

In goal, Torres made 13 saves on 29 shots, one assist and one steals.

On defense, the Gaels made seven steals with three by Lloyd, and together they blocked two shots. Iona drew eight Gannon kickouts, and were ejected seven times.  Brozovic was disqualified.  Neither squad scored a man-up goal with the Gaels having seven chances, and the Golden Knights having five.

After a defensive stand in the opening 3:12, Lloyd began a three-goal Iona run. His net-finder was followed by scores from Rodriguez and Machado. Gannon finally got on the board with a five-meter penalty shot goal to trim Iona's edge to 3-1 with 1:16 remaining.  Two straight Iona goals from Hudak at the 53-second mark and Lloyd with three ticks left put Iona up four going into the second period.

The Golden Knights scored 20 seconds into the second period to trim the Gaels lead to three, 5-2. Hudak's second score put Iona back up four with 2:53 left, but Gannon answered on its next trip down the pool.  Two consecutive Gaels scores by Feeley and Refaat on a breakaway gave Iona its largest lead of the first half, 9-4, with 1:57 to go.  With 1:59 left, Gannon scored, but Hudak's fourth goal just 30 ticks later resulted in a 10-5 Iona lead at intermission.

Twelve seconds into the third period Hudak hit his fifth goal to put Iona up six. Three unanswered Golden Knights scores chopped the Gael advantage to three, 11-8, with 4:21 on the clock.  Neither squad scored for the rest of the quarter as Iona held onto its three-goal edge going into final period.

Hudak lobbed in his sixth goal with 2:06 gone in the final period. The Golden Knights scored on their next possession, but two more goals from the Gaels All-American center, and one from Lloyd, put Iona up six, 15-9, with 3:58 remaining.  After a Gannon goal 26 seconds later, Lloyd struck again for a 16-10 Iona advantage with 3:12 left to seal the win despite a last-minute Golden Knights goal.

COACH THOUGHTS

Iona head coach Brian Kelly praised his squad's team effort in executing "the game plan" in both wins after last night's loss.

"We did a great job of following the game plan today which led to two solid wins," Kelly said. "It was great to rebound from our game last night when we did not play as a team. When we play together, stick to the game plan and have a team-first mentality, we're an excellent team."

UP NEXT

Next weekend the Gaels travel to California for four non-conference matches. On Saturday, October 25, at San Jose State, Iona takes on Fresno Pacific at 10:20 a.m. PST, then takes on Santa Clara University there at 2:20 p.m. PST/5:20 p.m. EST. On Sunday at Santa Clara in the Julian Frazer Memorial, Iona faces Ottawa University Arizona at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST, and Chapman College at 1:20 p.m. PST/4:20 p.m. EST.

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