BROOKLYN, NY – After outscoring no. 20 ranked St. Francis College in the second and third quarters, then trailing by a single goal going into the final period, the Iona men's water polo team fell short 22-15 in a near upset North East Water Polo Conference match here this evening.  

Senior co-captain Justin Ginsberg led the Maroon & Gold with five goals all in the second period on seven shots, while junior Lester Machado, sophomore Andrew Miller, freshmen Luksa Vlasic and freshman Luka Nastic scored two goals each. Senior co-captain Michael Feeley, junior Timothy Bergamini and freshman Trippe Bauman netted one each. The Gaels 15 goals on 33 shots and made six assists with two each by Machado and junior Mohamed Refaat.

In goal, sophomore Diego Gomez made 20 saves on 41 Fordham shots and had one assist and five steals with 22 goals against. On defense, Iona made 10 steals and blocked five shots with three from Ginsberg. Iona drew 14 St. Francis kickouts with three each by Feeley and Vlasic, while being ejected seven times. 

Ginsberg was disqualified in the third period with three exclusions.The Gaels turned the ball over 25 times. Iona scored on two of 14 man-up chances, while the Terriers scored once on seven chances.

GAME SUMMARY

With 1:12 gone in the match, the hosts struck first, but Vlasic answered just 42 seconds later to knot the game at one with 6:04 remaining in the opening period.  Four straight Terriers goals in the closing 1:17 gave St. Francis a 5-1 edge going into the second period. Ginsberg personally outscored St. Francis 5-4 in the second period. 

On the Gaels first second-quarter possession, Ginsberg got Iona back within three 5-2, then a Terriers five-meter penalty score upped the home lead back to four 6-2 with 58 ticks gone. Ginsberg's second score trimmed the St. Francis lead back to three 6-3 until the Terriers answered with 5:40 left to go back up four 7-3. Ginsberg found the back of the net for the third time in the period as Iona closed within three 7-4 at the 4:16 mark. 

After a Terriers goal, three unanswered Iona scores on straight possessions by Ginsberg (two) and Bauman chopped the home advantage to one with 41 seconds left. Another St. Francis goal with 18 ticks on the clock gave the Terriers a two-goal 9-7 halftime lead.

Two straight Terriers goals gave the hosts a four-goal edge 11-7 with 5:08 left until Vlasic's second score cut the St. Francis edge back to three 11-8 just 56 seconds later. The Maroon & Gold responded with two consecutive scores from Vlasic and Bergamini to chop the Terriers edge to two 11-9 with 3:30 to go. After another home goal, Machado got Iona back within two 12-10 with 3:02 left. With 35 seconds remaining, Feeley pulled Iona within one 12-11 going into the final period.

After the Terriers tacked on two straight goals in the opening 56 seconds of the fourth period, Machado got the Gaels back within two 14-12 at the 6:45 mark. Three consecutive Terriers goals in the next 2:12 put the hosts up five 17-12, but a 3-0 Gaels run by Nastic (two) and Miller pulled Iona within two 17-15 with 1:54 left in regulation. Four straight Terriers scores in the closing 1:32 sealed their win.

Despite losing a near-upset against a ranked opponent, Iona head coach Brian Kelly saw "a lot of positives, especially in goal.

"We had a lot of positives tonight," Iona head coach Brian Kelly said.  "Diego Gomez was outstanding in net with 20 saves. Diego really gave us a chance to win tonight by keeping us in the game until the final minutes."

"Our Captain Justin Ginsberg was outstanding. One of the best offensive games of his career." Head Coach Brian Kelly said.

UP NEXT

The Gaels travel to Santa Clara, CA, for four weekend matches against Biola University (CA), Fresno Pacific University (CA), Santa Clara University and the United States Air Force Academy (CO) on Saturday and Sunday at the Julian Frasier Memorial Tournament.

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