LEXINGTON, VA – The Iona women's water polo team began conference play Saturday against Wagner and Villanova on the campus of Virginia Military Institute. In the morning contest, the Gaels fell to the Seahawks 23-4, and later on, a last-second tie-attempt by Jordan Van Reeken was unsuccessful in a 12-11 defeat to the Wildcats.

GAME 1 | Wagner 23, iona 4

A potent Wagner offensive attack was too much for Iona to handle in the opening contest, with the Seahawks controlling from start to finish in a 23-4 defeat of the Gaels.
 
Jillian Schultz scored a team-high two goals, with Van Reeken and Taylor Hensley each finding the back of the net once. Jordin Hale played the entirety of the contest, making 11 saves and collecting a steal.
 
Iona's first tally came in the second quarter from Van Reeken, after Wagner scored the first seven goals. In the third quarter, after three unanswered Seahawks tallies, Schultz found the back of the net for the 30^th time this season. Later in the period, Hensley and Schultz scored back-to-back goals for the Gaels, but the Seahawks scored 11 straight goals to conclude the game.
 
For the game, Wagner outshot Iona 42-14 and was a perfect 4-4 on the powerplay against the Gaels. Iona drew eight exclusions, connecting on two man-up opportunities.

GAME 2 | villanova 12, iona 11

In a game highlighted by significant runs by each team, a game-winning goal by Villanova's Charlotte Curran with 1:19 remaining sunk the Gaels as the Wildcats defeated Iona 12-11.  During the final seconds, Van Reeken was unable to cash in to knot the score.
 
The teams traded goals in the first six minutes of the contest, with Van Reeken answering each Villanova tally. The Wildcats connected with two more in a 40-second stretch before Van Reeken completed her first-quarter hat trick to pull Iona within one, 4-3 after the first eight minutes.
 
Iona went to work in the second quarter, scoring six consecutive goals, with three coming on the man-advantage. Van Reeken, Schultz and Danielle Hernandez put Iona up by a pair with 5:16 to play in the half. Four minutes later, Hensley connected again and Malia Naugle found Stewart with seven seconds remaining to give Iona an 8-4 advantage at the break.
 
As Iona did in the second quarter, Villanova set the tone in the third. After Rockett put the Gaels up by five, the Wildcats scored the next six over a 5:10 span, capped off by a powerplay tally with three seconds to play to take a 10-9 lead.
 
Defenses clamped down in the fourth period, with neither team finding the back of the net until the 3:40 mark when Jordan Van Reeken put the Gaels ahead with a pair of goals in 55 seconds. With 2:15 to play, Villanova's Kate Murray knotted the score at 11-11, and Charlotte Curran put the Wildcats ahead with 1:19 left.
 
Van Reeken led Iona with five goals on seven shots, drew four exclusions, and collected two steals. Stewart added an assist with her two tallies. Hernandez scored once on her only shot and dished out three assists. Schultz scored once on three tries, drew four exclusions, dished out two assists and claimed a steal.
 
For the game, Iona was outshot by Villanova 28-20 and connected on 5-10 powerplays.

UP NEXT

Iona continues MAAC play tomorrow against La Salle at 9 a.m. and Siena at 12:30 p.m.

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