SANTA CLARA. CA – The Iona College men's water polo dropped a pair of contests on the opening day of the Julian Fraser Memorial. The Gaels lost to Fresno Pacific in the early afternoon and then Santa Clara edged out the Maroon & Gold to wrap up Saturday's action.
GAME ONE: FRESNO PACIFIC 12, IONA 9
In a mini repeat of what happened against Penn State Behrend last Friday, the Gaels were victim of an opponents' impressive comeback. Iona had a 4-1 lead after the first quarter and 7-3 advantage at intermission. Come the second half, Fresno Pacific cut its deficit to one, 8-7, entering the fourth quarter. The 'Birds then outscored the Gaels 5-1 in the final quarter to result in the 12-9 final score.
Junior
Andrew Brozovic had three goals, one assist, two steals and one block. Rookie
Lester Machado and junior
Patrick Hudak had two goals on 13 combined shots. Hudak had a team-high three exclusions drawn. Sophomore
Justin Ginsberg and freshman
Mohamed Refaat each had one score.
Senior
Jorge Andres Torres made nine saves in net on 30 shots against. He had one assist from the cage.
As a team, Iona had six turnovers while gathering nine steals. The Gaels were two for four on man-up opportunities. The 'Birds were two for nine in their man-up chances.
GAME TWO: SANTA CLARA 16, IONA 7
The Gaels never led in the match. The Broncos shut put the Gaels in the first quarter and then took an 8-4 lead into intermission. The third quarter was the differentiator when Santa Clare expanded its lead to 13-5. Iona scored two goals in the fourth quarter.
Machado and Hudak but had two goals to lead Iona in Saturday's finale. Sophomore
German Rodriguez, junior
Brett Hofer and senior
Philip Wachowski each had one goal. Machado, Ginsberg, Refaar, Rodriguez and Hofer all had one assist. Hudak and Hofer each had two exclusions drawn.
Andres Torres faced 24 shots and had nine saves. Senior
Michael Banks played the fourth quarter and allowed three goals.
The Maroon & Gold were one for seven on man up chances. Santa Clara was three for six. Turnovers troubled the Gaels as they had 14 in the course of the game.
UP NEXT
On Sunday, Oct. 26 at Santa Clara, CA in the concluding day of 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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Water Polo: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
