PRINCETON, NJ –  After trailing by only two goals going into the final period, the fifth-seeded Iona men's water polo fell 14-11 to Brown University (RV) in the opening round of the Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship hosted here at DeNunzio Pool this weekend by Princeton University.

Freshman Luksa Vlasic led the Gaels with four goals, while senior co-captain Justin Ginsberg and freshman William Harrington each scored twice. Junior Mohammed Refaat, sophomore Trippe Bauman, and freshman Luka Nastic had one goal apiece. Iona scored 11 goals on 33 shots and made eight assists with three by junior Andrew Miller.

In goal, sophomore Diego Gomez made ten saves on 26 Brown shots and four steals with 14 goals against. On defense, Iona made 11 steals with two each by Miller and Nastic, while Refaat blocked two shots. Iona drew nine Brown kick outs with four by Vlasic, while being ejected seven times. Ginsberg and senior co-captain Michael Feeley were disqualified with three ejections each. The Gaels turned the ball over five times. Iona scored on three of nine man-up chances, while the Bears scored five times on six chances. 

GAME SUMMARY

With 2:52 gone in the match, Iona got on the board first with Vlasic's man-up goal. Brown answered on its next possession to tie the game at one each with 4:40 left in the opening period. After the Bears took the lead 2-1, Harrington found the back of the net to knot the score at two with 2:48 remaining. Brown regained the lead 31 ticks later, then Refaat's 6-on-5 score retired the game at three at the 1:14 mark. With 30 seconds left, the Gaels mounted a one-goal advantage 4-3. 

A Brown five-meter penalty goal with 11 seconds to go resulted in the quarter's fourth tie at four each going into the second quarter. Brown opened the second period with two unanswered scores, including a man-up goal, for a 6-4 edge with 55 seconds gone. On the Gaels next possession, Bauman trimmed the Bears lead back to one 6-5 just 22 ticks later. Two straight Brown scores in the closing five minutes gave the Bears a three-goal 8-5 halftime advantage.

In the third period, Iona outscored Brown 5-4. The Bears continued their 4-0 run into the third period with two consecutive scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, for a 10-5 cushion with 1:28 gone. Vlasic's second goal ended the Gaels offensive drought to pull Iona back within four 10-6 at the 5:04 mark. On their next trip down the pool, the Bears went back up five 11-6. Vlasic's third score on a five-meter penalty shot, followed by Ginsberg's first goal, got Iona within three at 11-8 with 2:42 on the clock. After Brown answered, Ginsberg capitalized on a 6-on-5 chance to chop the Bears edge back to three 12-9 with 1:03 remaining.   

With just eight ticks left, Harrington's second score got Iona with two 12-10 going into the final period. With 1:04 gone in the fourth quarter, Brown went back up three 13-10. Neither squad scored until Vlasic's fourth goal cut the Bears edge back to two 13-11 with 1:41 remaining. A Bears skip-shot goal 39 seconds later sealed the Brown 14-11 win.

COACH THOUGHTS

Iona head coach Brian Kelly was "happy" with his squad's overall effort, especially from his "younger players," but was disappointed with offensive mistakes that could have resulted in an upset win.

"We had our chances to win this game," Kelly said.  "I was happy with our compete level. I was happy how we were able to overcome a bad second quarter.  Unfortunately, every time we tried to tie the game up, we either missed a shot or turned the ball over. 

"I'm happy we had so many contributions from our younger players. This will be a good game to build off."

UP NEXT

Iona will face sixth-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday at 10 a.m.

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