ERIE, PA - With two victories today against McKendree and host Mercyhurst, the Iona women's water polo team capped off a four-game sweep of the Mercyhurst Lakers Invitation at the Hagerty Family Events Center.

GAME 1 | Iona 11, McKendree 9

In a see-saw match with seven ties and two lead chances, an eight-goal, five-assist performance by sophomore Jordan Van Reeken fueled an 11-9 Iona win over McKendree in this morning's first match.

Van Reeken scored on all eight of her shots, while freshman Jillian Schultz had two goals and freshman Karsyn Stewart scored one. In goal, redshirt junior Jordin Hale made 13 saves on 23 McKendree shots and added one steal.

On defense, Iona made nabbed four steals and drew 12 McKendree ejections with five by Van Reeken and four by Schultz, while being ejected nine times.

Schultz needed only 27 seconds to put Iona on the board first, but McKendree answered with 4:39 left in the first period to knot the match at one. Van Reeken put Iona back up one 2-1 only 1:18 later until McKendree tied the score for the second time at two with 3:01 remaining.

Iona regained a one-goal advantage on Schultz' second score with 25 seconds gone in the second period. The Bearcats retied the game at three 2:55 later, then Van Reeken put the Gaels back on top 4-3 on Iona's next trip down the pool. The battle continued as McKendree evened the score with 1:55 left for a four-all tie at intermission.

Neither squad scored for the first four minutes of the second half until McKendree went up by two on consecutive five-meter penalty shots within 33 seconds at the 3:25 mark. Two unanswered Gael goals from Van Reeken and Stewart knotted the match for the fifth time at 6-6 with 1:25 left. The Bearcats scored with 51 ticks left on a man-up chance to lead 7-6 going into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, the Gaels rallied to outscore the Bearcats 5-2. Taking advantage of a 6-5 chance with 33 seconds gone in the fourth quarter, Van Reeken's fourth goal tied the game at seven. Van Reeken struck again on a goalie-out score 1:02 later as Gaels regained the lead 8-7.  A breakaway Bearcat goal 24 ticks later evened the game at eight until two more Van Reeken scores put Iona up 10-8 with 4:07 remaining. On their next possession, the Bearcats cut the Gaels lead to 10-9. Van Reeken found the back of the net for eighth time as Iona went up 11-9 with 2:52 remaining to seal the win.
 

GAME 2 | IONA 10, Mercyhurst 8

After leading 7-3 at halftime, Iona failed to score in the third quarter, but rallied with two goals in the closing minutes for a 10-8 win over Mercyhurst in the conclusion of the weekend set.

Van Reeken led the Gaels with three goals, while Schultz scored two. Sophomore Danielle Hernandez, sophomore Carli Tovar, freshman Brianna Erickson, Stewart and freshman Maeve Wydan had one goal each. The Gaels made added seven assists with three by Stewart.

In goal, Hale made nine saves on 22 Mercyhurst shots, including a five-meter penalty stop, and four steals.

On defense, Iona collected 16 steals with three by Van Reeken, and one block coming from Hernandez. The Gaels turned the ball over 12 times, drew 15 Mercyhurst ejections and were kicked out 11 times. Van Reeken, Stewart and Wydan were disqualified with three ejections.

The Gaels struck first on Van Reeken's first goal with 1:28 gone in the match. Taking advantage of a man-up chance, Mercyhurst evened the score at one with 4:51 left in the opening period, then went up 2-1 just 1:39 later. Two straight Iona goals from Schultz and Erickson tied the match, then gave Iona a one-goal edge 3-2 with 1:52 remaining.

Van Reeken's second goal gave Iona a two-goal cushion 1:58 into the second period, but Mercyhurst cut that edge to one 4-3 on its next possession at the 5:35 mark. With 1:47 left, Stewart's goal on Van Reeken's assist put the Gaels back on top by two 5-3, which sprung a 3-0 quarter-ending run. Tover and Schultz scored on consecutive man-up chances in the closing 53 seconds for a 7-3 Iona halftime lead.

The Lakers opened the third period with their own 3-0 run, including a five-meter penalty goal, to trim the Gaels lead to one 7-6 with 4:55 remaining. Neither squad scored for the rest of the period with Hale blocking a Mercyhurst five-meter shot, and Schultz missing a Gael five-meter free throw.

The Lakers run continued into the fourth period with the hosts tying the match at seven with 1:25 gone. Wydan ended the Gaels offensive drought to go up 8-7 with 6:22 to go. After a Mercyhurst lob tied the game at eight, two straight Iona scores from Van Reeken and Hernandez upped the Gaels lead to 10-8 with 2:20 left to seal the win.

Pleased with his squad's four-win weekend, Iona head coach Brian Kelly called the road trip "a tremendous learning experience" as the season's conference schedule approaches. "This weekend was a tremendous learning experience for us," Kelly said. "We learned a ton; we learned how to close out games; we're learning what it takes to win."

UP NEXT

The Gaels travel to Poughkeepsie on Saturday to face Brown at 10:30 a.m. and George Washington at 4:30 p.m.

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