CAMBRIDGE, MA -  After notching its second Northeast Water Polo Conference win with a 13-11 victory over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Iona University men's water polo team lost 15-9 to no.-15 ranked Harvard University in two conference road matches here today.

Iona 13 MIT 11

Ahead by as much as five goals in the second period, the Gaels held off a second-half MIT rally for a 13-11 win in this morning's road match. Senior co-captain Mohamed Refaat led the Gaels with five goals, while junior co-captain Drew Miller had three goals and sophomore Luksa Vlasic scored two.  Graduate co-captain Justin Ginsberg, freshman Sole Fratila, freshman Coby Scanlon added one goal apiece. Iona scored 13 goals on 28 shots with 14 assists with four from Miller and three each from Ginsberg and Refaat.

In goal, senior Kyle Laufenberg had 11 saves on 20 MIT shots, along with stopping a five-meter shot,  four steals, one assist and 11 goals against. On defense, the Maroon and Gold made 11 steals with three by Ginsberg. The Gaels had two blocked shots. Iona drew 11 MIT kickouts with three each by Vlasic, Miller and junior James DiSalle, while being ejected ten times, including a five-meter ejection.  Refaat was disqualified with three kickouts. The Gaels turned the ball over 14 times. Iona scored seven man-up goals on 11 opportunities, while MIT made three man-up goals on ten chances.  

With 3:32 gone in the match, Ginsberg put the Gaels on the board, followed by Miller on Iona's next possession 26 seconds later for a two-goal 2-0 lead with 4:02 remaining in the opening period. Miller's second goal just 58 ticks later gave Iona a 3-0 edge. MIT finally got on the board to slice the Gaels margin back to two 3-1 with 1:21 left. Forty-three seconds later, an unanswered Engineers score got the home squad within one 3-2 going into the second period.

The Gaels regained a two-goal 4-2 advantage on Refaat's goal just 25 seconds into the second quarter. On Iona's next trip down the pool, Refaat struck again to put the Gaels back up three 5-2 with 6:56 remaining. Vlasic continued a 3-0 Gaels run for a four-goal 6-2 lead at the 5:38 mark. Refaat's third score on a man-up chance resulted in a 7-2 Iona lead, but MIT chopped the Gaels edge back to four 7-3 with 4:13 left. Fratila tapped in Miller's pass only 28 seconds later as Iona went back up five 8-3. Two straight Engineers goals in the closing 1:27 reduced the Gaels halftime advantage to three 8-5.

After Laufenberg smothered a MIT five-meter penalty shot, Refaat's fourth score gave the Gaels a four-goal 9-5 edge with 1:37 gone in the third period. After two straight MIT goals got the home squad within two 9-7, Refaat hit his fifth goal and restored a 10-7 lead with 4:30 to go. A MIT score only 28 ticks later got the home squad within two 10-8.   Following Vlasic's second goal, MIT cut the Iona edge back two 11-9 going into the final period.

Scanlon's goal opened the fourth quarter to a three-goal 12-9 cushion with 31 seconds gone. A MIT man-up score at the 3:58 mark sliced the Iona margin to two 12-10. Miller capitalized on a 6-5 chance for a three-goal Gaels 13-10 lead, but the Engineers answered to draw within two 13-11 with 2:40 left as Iona held on for the win.

Harvard #15 15 Iona 9

Failing to score until 3:17 gone in the second period, Iona fell 15-9 to no.-15 ranked Harvard in this evening's conference road match. Vlasic led the Gaels with three goals, while Refaat and junior Trippe Bauman had two goals each. Ginsberg and Fratila scored one goal each.

In goal, senior Kyle Laufenberg had nine saves on 26 Harvard shots, two steals and 15 goals against. On defense, the Maroon and Gold made 15 steals with two each by Bauman, Vlasic and freshman Rastko Jevdjovic. The Gaels blocked two shots. Iona drew seven Harvard kickouts with two by freshman Matthew Mischlich, including three five-meter kickouts, while being ejected seven times, including one five-meter ejection. The Gaels turned the ball over 17 times. Iona scored five man-up goals on eight opportunities, while Harvard made four man-up goals on six chances.  

With 1:18 gone in the match, Harvard got on the board first, then struck again for a 2-0 edge with 4:45 left in the opening period. The Crimson tacked on a third unanswered goal with 1:27 left for a 3-0 advantage as the Gaels failed to score in the first period.

Continuing a 4-0 run, the hosts capitalized on a man-up chance for a 4-0 lead with 6:46 remaining in the second period. Refaat ended the Iona offense drought on a five-meter penalty drawn by sophomore Edward Howaniec to pull the Gaels within three 4-1 at the 4:43 mark. The Crimson answered with two consecutive goals for a 6-1 margin with 3:08 on the clock. With 21 seconds left, Vlasic's goal sliced the home lead to five 7-2 at halftime.

Harvard scored only 21 seconds into the third period, then followed with a five-meter penalty goal for a 9-2 edge with 6:38 on the clock. Twenty-five ticks later, Vlasic's second score pulled Iona back within six 9-3, but the Crimson answered on its next possession for a 10-3 margin. With 4:35 to go, the hosts tacked on their second straight score to lead 11-3. Fratila buried a five-meter penalty shot with 3:22, but two straight Harvard goals resulted in a 13-4 home lead at the 1:28 mark. With six seconds left, Bauman cut the Crimson advantage to eight 13-5 going into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Iona outscored Harvard 4-2.  The Gaels opened the final period with Ginsberg's goal to get within seven 13-6 with 38 seconds gone.  Vlasic followed with a man-up score to cut Harvard's lead to six 13-7 with 5:39 to go. After a Harvard goal, Bauman's second score on a five-meter penalty shot trimmed the Crimson lead to six 14-8 with 4:06 on the clock. Refaat's second goal continued a 2-0 Gaels run as Iona got within five 14-9 with 2:34 remaining, but the Crimson scored 1:12 later to seal the win. 

UP NEXT

On Sunday, the Gaels travel to Providence, RI, to face Brown University at 3 p.m., and New London, CT, to take on Connecticut College at 6 p.m. 

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