PRINCETON, NJ – Wrapping up the 2021 season with a 11-7 win over the sixth-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which featured five ties and three lead changes, the fifth-seeded Iona men's water polo team finished in fifth place at the Northeast Water Polo Conference Championships here at DeNuncio Pool this morning hosted by Princeton University.

Freshman Luksa Vlasic led the Gaels (9-19) with five goals. Senior co-captain Justin Ginsberg, junior Mohamed Refaat and junior Michael Feeley had two scores each. The Gaels made 11 goals in 34 shots and had seven assists with three from sophomore Trippe Bauman.

In goal, sophomore Diego Gomez made 16 saves on 28 MIT shots, and had one assist and two steals with seven goals against. On defense, Iona made eight steals with three by Refaat, and freshman William Harrington blocked one shot. Iona drew six MIT kick outs with three by Feeley, while being ejected six times. The Gaels turned the ball over seven times. The Maroon & Gold scored on two of five man-up chances, while the Engineers also scored two goals on five man-up opportunities. Iona won all four swim offs.

GAME SUMMARY

MIT got on the board first on its second possession for a 1-0 lead with 2:02 gone in the match.  The Engineers tacked on another goal with 1:20 remaining to go up two 2-0 going into the second period as the Gaels failed to score on eight shots in the opening quarter. With 2:28 remaining in the second quarter, Refaat scored the Gaels first goal to cut the Engineers lead to one 2-1. Vlasic tied the game at two with 47 seconds left to halftime as the Iona defense held MIT scoreless in the second period.

Continuing at 3-0 Iona run, Feeley gave the Gaels their first lead 3-2 with 26 seconds gone in the third period. MIT re-tied the game at three each at the 5:33 mark, then retoIt's ok the lead 4-3 on a five-meter penalty score just 36 ticks later. Vlasic's second goal knotted the game at four with 4:36 on the clock, but MIT went back up one 5-4 on its next trip down the pool. With 2:01 remaining, Vlasic tied the game for the fourth time at five apiece on a five-meter penalty shot. Ginsberg's goal with 51 seconds to go gave Iona the lead back 6-5 going into the final period. 

Although the Gaels outscored the Engineers 5-2 in the final period, MIT opened the fourth quarter with a five-meter penalty shot to tie the score at six with 6:34 left. After Vlasic did the same for Iona 35 seconds later, the Gaels went back up one 7-6. Refaat's second goal on Iona's next possession gave Iona a two-goal 8-6 edge, but MIT answered 20 ticks later to cut the Gaels cushion back to one 8-7. Vlasic's fifth goal with 2:28 left restored a two-goal advantage 9-7. Ginsberg's breakaway score followed by Feeley's second goal with 31 seconds remaining sealed the 11-7 season-ending Iona win.

COACH THOUGHTS

Iona head coach Brian Kelly with his squad's performance with a season-ending victory,

"It's great to end our season on a high note with a win," Kelly said. "We had our best tournament of the season at championships. We had great contributions from our younger players, especially Luksa Vlasic. Diego Gomez was outstanding in net and our captains, Justin Ginsberg and Michael Feeley led the way on both ends of the pool."

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