POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Iona women's water polo team recorded two wins over Villanova University 14-12 and St. Francis College Brooklyn 12-4 in two non-conference matches today at the Courtney Fisher Invitational hosted this weekend by Marist College. With today's first win, Iona head coach Brian Kelly became the college's winningest coach with 379 victories.

GAME ONE SUMMARY

In a seesaw match featuring eight ties and four lead changes, the Gaels notched their first victory of their 2020 campaign 14-12 over Villanova.

Junior Jordan van Reeken led the Gaels with five goals on seven shots, while junior Danielle Hernandez had three goals on five shots. Junior Carli Tovar, sophomore Maeve Wydan and sophomore Karsyn Stewart scored two goals each. Iona had seven assists with two each from Wyndan and freshman Mia Tovar. The Gaels scored 14 goals on 31 shots.

In goal, redshirt senior Jordin Hale made five saves on 24 Wildcats shots, and one steal. On defense, Iona made seven steals with two by Hernandez. Iona drew three Villanova kickouts with two from Van Reeken, while being ejected nine times. The Gaels scored on one of three man-up chances, and the Wildcats scored on four of nine.  Iona turned the ball over six times.

With 1:01 gone in the match, Iona struck first on Wydan's goal for a 1-0 edge, but Villanova answered 1:25 later to tie the score at one. On Iona's next possession, Stewart put the Gaels back up one 2-1 with 5:18 left in the opening period. Villanova re-tied the match at two 1:01 later, but the Maroon & Gold retained the advantage 3-2 on Hernandez's score with 32 ticks on the clock. Villanova tied the match again at three with .8 remaining. 

Tovar needed only 44 seconds into the second period to give the Gaels a one-goal edge, but the Wildcats answered for a four-all tied with 6:34 left. The Wildcats took the lead 5-4 at the 4:53 mark, then Van Reeken knotted the game for the fifth time at five apiece with 2:40 left to halftime. That sparked a 3-0 Iona run with another goal from Van Reeken and one by Hernandez as the Gaels led 7-5 with 28 seconds to go. Villanova cut the Iona advantage back to one 7-6 just 12 ticks before intermission.

The Wildcats opened the third period with a man-up goal for the match's sixth tie at seven each.  With 5:09 on the clock, Wydan's second score gave Iona the lead back 8-7 until Villanova re-tied the game at eight 1:17 later.   The Wildcats hit another unanswered goal to retake the lead 9-8 with 42 seconds left. A two-goal rally in the closing 28 seconds put the Gaels back up one 10-9 going into the final period.  After Van Reeken's third score on a five-meter penalty shot, Hernandez hit her third goal on a seven-meter lob with .7 on the clock.

Thirty-eight seconds into the fourth period Van Reeken's fourth score gave Iona a two-goal edge 11-9.   After the Wildcats pulled within one, Tovar and Stewart gave the Gaels a 13-10 lead with 5:27 left. On their next trip down the pool, Villanova trimmed the Iona advantage back to two 13-11. Van Reeken's fifth goal upped the Gaels margin to three 14-11 at the 4:47 mark. Despite a Villanova man-up score with 2:02 remaining, Iona held on for the win.

GAME TWO SUMMARY

After mounting a 4-1 lead in the first period, Iona earned its second win of the day with a 12-4 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn. 

Junior Laura Rockett led the Gaels with a hat trick on five shots, while junior Malia Naugle and Stewart had two scores each. Wydan, Hernandez, Van Reeken, Carli Tovar and freshman Mia Tovar made one goal apiece.  Iona had five assists. The Gaels scored 12 goals on 25 shots.

In goal, Hale made six saves on 10 Terriers shots and two steals.  Freshman Zoe Metzger had one goal against on the only shot she faced in the final 3:10 of the match.On defense, the Maroon & Gold had five steals and a blocked shot by Hernandez. Iona forced eight St. Francis kickouts with two each from Van Reeken and Hernandez, while being ejected eight times. The Gaels scored three goals on eight man-up chances, while the Terriers scored on three of eight chances. Iona turned the ball over four times.

With 45 seconds gone in the match, Rockett started a 3-0 Gaels run, followed by Wydan and Rockett's second goal to lead 3-0 with 4:10 remaining. St. Francis got on the board with a 6-on-5 goal with 2:29 left to trim the Iona edge to two 3-1. The Gaels hit their second man-up score as Stewart found the back of the net with 1:01 for a 4-1 Iona edge going into the second period.

In the second quarter, neither squad scored until the Terriers man-up goal cut Iona's advantage to two 4-2 with 2:55 remaining. The Gaels ended the first half with a 2-0 run as Naugle struck at the 2:35 mark, followed by Hernandez's man-up score with 1:45 left for a 6-2 Gaels halftime lead.The third period featured another offensive drought on both ends of the pool until Rockett's third goal, followed by Van Reeken's score as the Maroon & Gold led 8-2 with 1:55 remaining.

With 54 ticks gone in the final period, St. Francis capitalized on a 6-4 advantage to pull with five 8-3. Sparked by Carli Tovar's goal with 5:10 remaining, Iona took off on a 3-0 run with Naugle and Stewart each hitting their second goals to lead 11-3 with 2:20 left. With Metzger in goal, the Terriers scored with 55 ticks left, but Mia Tovar sealed the win with her first collegiate score.

PLAYER THOUGHTS

The team's two co-captains, Hale and Van Reeken saw improvement among their teammates in both wins after tough losses to nationally ranked opponents.

"I think that on Wednesday, as well as this weekend, we improved a lot," Hale said.  "We're stepping up in a major way, and I think that as a team we're becoming more confident." 

"They were great games," Van Reeken said.  "I think in the first game, we had a lot to work on, and we showed some of our weaknesses, but I feel that we bounced back against St. Francis seeing a lot of different players score and step up. We definitely have a lot to work on, but I'm hopeful for the rest of the season."

As for being part of their head coach's historic victory, the team were proud to be part of Iona history and Kelly's legacy in building the women's water polo program.

"It's pretty awesome," Hale said. "I love playing here and I love being part of Gael Nation, and I love being part of Gael history."

"It's pretty cool to be part of history at Iona, especially with Brian Kelly who started the women's program, and has done a great job in getting back to the tournament every year," Van Reeken said.

UP NEXT

Next weekend the Gaels travel to Ann Arbor, MI, for four matches at the 2020 Wolverine Invitation hosted by the University of Michigan. On Saturday, Iona faces #23 Bucknell at 8 a.m., and Santa Clara at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the Gaels take on host #10 Michigan at 9:20 a.m., and St. Francis at 1:20 p.m.

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)

Tweet #GaelNation
Tweet #IWWP