SANTA CLARA, CA – Battling wind, rain and ranked opponents, the Iona men's water polo team fell 19-8 to host Santa Clara University and 22-9 to no.20-ranked United States Air Force Academy today in the Julian Fraser Memorial Invitational.
Santa Clara (RV) 19 Iona 8
In an outdoor match on 65-degree morning with steady drizzle, Iona trailed by as much as eleven in a non-conference 19-8 loss to host Santa Clara, which "received votes" in the national Collegiate Water Polo Association poll. Freshman Luksa Vlasic led the Maroon and Gold with two goals on six shots. Junior Lester Machado, junior Mohamed Refaat, sophomore Andrew Miller, freshman Trippe Bauman, freshman Jack Folan and freshman William Harrington all had one score each. The Gaels scored eight goals in 29 shots and made five assists with two by senior co-captain Justin Ginsberg.
In goal, junior Kyle Laufenberg had three saves on 16 Broncos shots and 13 goals against in the first half. Sophomore Diego Gomez had six saves on 13 Broncos shots and six goals against in the second half.
On defense, the Gaels made four steals and Refaat blocked a shot. Iona drew seven Santa Clara kickouts, while being ejected 12 times. Machado and Vlasic were disqualified with three exclusions apiece. Iona failed to score on three man-up chances, while Santa Clara scored once on eight man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over nine times.
Two straight home goals in the opening 2:35 gave Santa Clara a 2-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first period. Refaat got the Gaels on the board 15 seconds later to trim the Broncos edge to one 2-1. Three back-to-back Santa Clara scores put the hosts up 5-1 with 2:08 remaining. Machado found the back of the net to trim the Broncos advantage to three 5-2 just 1:06 later. With one tick on the clock, a Santa Clara goal gave the hosts a 6-2 margin going into the second period.
In the second quarter, the Broncos scored seven unanswered goals, including a five-meter penalty shot, for a 13-2 halftime lead, as the Gaels failed to score in the period. In the third period, Iona outscored Santa Clara 3-2. With 40 seconds gone, Vlasic got Iona back on the board, but the home squad countered to go up 14-3 with 3:19. The Gaels rallied with two consecutive scores from Bauman and Vlasic trimmed the Broncos lead to nine 14-5 with 1:29 remaining. Santa Clara answered 22 seconds later for a 15-5 cushion going into the final quarter.
Forty-four seconds into the fourth period, Harrington got Iona back with nine 15-6, but the Broncos scored on their next trip down the pool to go up 16-6 with 6:40 left in regulation. After Miller's goal with 4:26 to go, Santa Clara went on a 3-0 run for a 19-7 advantage with 1:12 to go. With 50 seconds on the clock, Folan recorded his second goal as a Gael.
#20 Air Force 22 Iona 9
As the wind and rain continued, Iona was down only four goals going into the second period, but dropped this afternoon's second match to Air Force 22-9. Ginsberg, Feeley, Miller and Vlasic led the Gaels with two goals each, while junior Timothy Bergamini scored one goal. Iona scored nine goals on 20 shots and made seven assists with three by Refaat.
In goal, sophomore Diego Gomez had 16 saves and one steal. Junior Kyle Laufenberg had one save on one Falcons shot and no goals against when he briefly replaced Gomez in the second period. On defense, the Gaels made three steals with two by Ginsberg. Iona drew ten Air Force kickouts with three by Refaat and Vlasic, while being ejected 11 times. Freshman Luka Nastic was disqualified with three exclusions. Iona scored once on 10 man-up chances. The Gaels turned the ball over 14 times.
Air Force got on the board just 18 seconds into the match, then tacked on another goal for a 2-0 lead with 4:36 left in the first period. Feeley pulled Iona with a goal 2-1, but the Air Force answered to up its margin to 3-1 at the 3:58 mark. On the Gaels next trip down the pool, Bergamini cut the Falcons edge back to one 3-2 with three minutes on the clock. Air Force answered with three straight goals for a 6-2 advantage going into the second period.
The Falcons opened the second quarter with another goal to go up five 7-2 with 58 seconds gone. After Vlasic missed a five-meter penalty shot, Miller found the back of the net to pull the Gaels back with four 7-3 with 5:40 remaining. The Falcons responded with back-to-back goals, then Feeley's second score cut the Air Force lead to five 9-4 with 3:36 to go. Air Force added two more scores for a 11-4 advantage at intermission.
Ginsberg needed only 14 seconds into the third period to trim the Falcons edge to 11-5, but Air Force responded with two straight scores for a 13-5 advantage with 6:58 left. Ginsberg's second goal on the Gaels next possession cut the Falcons cushion to seven 13-6 just 26 ticks later. After Air Force added two more goals, Miller's second score cut the Falcons lead to eight 15-8 with 3:52 to go.
The Falcons converted a five-meter penalty shot, but Vlasic answered on Iona's next chance to get Iona back within eight 16-8 with 3:11 left. Air Force scored twice in the closing 2:54 for a 18-8 advantage going into the final period. The Falcons scored four goals in the fourth period, including two five-meter penalty scores, while Vlasic added the Gaels final score with 33 seconds left.
UP NEXT
Next weekend, the Gaels travel to New England for four road games. On Saturday at 10 a.m Iona takes on Connecticut College, then head to Providence, RI, for a NEWPC contest against Brown University at 3 p.m. On Sunday in Cambridge, MA, the Gaels face the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 10 a.m., and Harvard University at 3 p.m., both league matches.
