POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Despite strong first-half offensive starts, the Iona women's water polo team's second-half defense efforts stalled in losses to Brown and George Washington today at the Red Fox Invitational hosted by Marist College.

GAME 1 | Brown 12, Iona 4

After being down only two goals midway through the third quarter, Iona (5-9 overall) allowed six unanswered Brown scores to fall 12-4 in this morning's match.

Sophomore Laura Rockett, freshman Taylor Hensley, freshman Jillian Schultz and freshman Maeve Wydan each scored one goal for the Gaels, who took 20 shots. In goal, redshirt junior Jordin Hale made seven saves on 28 Brown shots.

On defense, Iona made seven steals with two from Schultz. The Gaels drew 11 Bears penalties with six from sophomore Jordan Van Reeken, while being ejected eight times. Iona scored on 2-11 man-up chances, while Brown went 3-8. The Gaels turned the ball over 14 times.

The Bears needed only nine seconds to score on their first possession, then upped their lead to 2-0 with 3:32 left in the opening period. With 2:03 remaining, Schultz put Iona on the board to pull within one 2-1, but Brown went back up two 3-1 with 40 ticks on the clock. Hensley scored the only goal for either squad in the second period at the 3:32 mark to trim the Bears lead back to one 3-2 at intermission.

Brown scored with 18 seconds gone in the third quarter but on the next possession, Rockett capitalized on a 6-5 advantage to pull Iona back within one. The Bears hit two consecutive scores, including a man-up goal for a 6-3 advantage with 5:04 remaining. With 3:58 left, Wydan's man-up goal got Iona back within two 6-4. The Bears 6-on-5 goal 1:18 later began a 6-0 run that lasted to 5:05 left in regulation to seal the win.
 

GAME 2 | George Washington 13, Iona 9

After four first-half ties, Iona trailed by three goals at intermission, but the defense gave up seven straight George Washington goals in the second half for a 13-9 loss in this afternoon's match.

Schultz, Hensley and Wydan led the Gaels with two scores apiece, while Rockett, sophomore Kate Schmidt and Van Reeken added one goal each. Iona had five assists with two each from sophomore Carli Tovar and Wydan. In goal, Hale made seven saves on 25 George Washington shots and had one steal and one assist.

On defense, Iona collected ten steals with eight from Van Reeken and blocked two shots. The Gaels drew eight Colonials ejections with three by Schultz, while being kicked out six times. Iona turned the ball over 17 times and scored on 3-8 man-up chances.

With 2:35 gone in the match, Schultz gave Iona a 1-0 lead, but George Washington answered ten seconds later to knot the score at one with 5:15 left in the opening period. The Colonials gained a 2-1 advantage two minutes later until Schultz's second score tied the game at two with 1:44 remaining. With 15 seconds on the clock, George Washington retook the lead 3-2 going into the second period.

Rockett's goal on a Wydan assist tied the game for the third time at three 2:42 into the second quarter. On their next possession, the Colonials went back up one 4-3. Van Reeken found the back of the net on a man-up chance for a four-all tie. Three consecutive George Washington goals in the closing 2:50 gave the Colonials a 7-4 halftime advantage.

Only 47 seconds into the third period, Hensley pulled Iona back within two but George Washington answered with three straight scores for a five-goal 10-5 advantage entering the final period.

The Colonials tacked on two more goals in the opening 1:39 until Wydan ended the Gaels offensive drought to pull Iona to 12-5 with 5:35 left. After a George Washington goal, Iona rallied with three straight goals in the closing 2:23 from Wydan, Schmidt and Hensley, but fell short.

UP NEXT

Next weekend the Gaels travel to Harvard University for four matches. On Saturday, Iona faces Bucknell at 9:15 a.m. and Toronto at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, Iona takes on UC Davis at 8 a.m. and Brown for the third time this season at 4:45 p.m.  

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