LEXINGTON, VA - Iona women's water polo splits the day with a dramatic overtime loss to Villanova in the morning and a win over VMI in the afternoon. The Trinidad and Tobago native Jordan van Reeken scored a team high 12 goals between the two games and added six assists on the day. Freshman Mary Jane Bailey got the win and made 11 saves against VMI.  

Iona 18 Villanova 19

Laura Rockett kicked off the game sneaking one past the net minder 45 seconds into the game. Villanova answered, tying things up at 1-1 with 6 minutes left. Jordan Van Reeken added a tally to the scoresheet on the powerplay opportunity, and Naugle found the back of the cage, with an assist from Van Reeken, giving the Gaels a 3-1 lead.  

The wildcats answered with a 3 goal run and took a 4-3 lead. Right before the end of the busy first period Van Reeken found the back of the net again and knotted it up at 4-4. Nova opened the second quarter 15 seconds in but the Gaels answered 15 seconds after that off a rocket from Rockett. Kaya Hart found the back of the net on a powerplay to take the lead but Nova came back down and scored on their powerplay chance. 

Three more goals from Gaels in the second quarter gave Iona a one goal lead, 9-8, entering the halftime break. The third frame ended the same as the second, with the Gaels outsourcing the Wildcats 5-4. Entering the fourth quarter Iona was on top by two goals. Junior Mia Tovar gave the Gaels a one goal lead with just 18 second left to play, the Wildcats found the back of the net with one second left on the clock and sent the game into OT tied at 17-17. 

 The overtime periods were all defense with only one goal scored in the first overtime period and only two in the second. Nova scored the only goal in the first overtime period, but Van Reeken tied things back up in the second OT off an assist from Hart. Villanova's goalie scored the game winning goal as time expired, giving the Wildcats a 19-18 win in an overtime thriller.    

Iona 14 VMI 10

30 minutes into the game Kaya Hart dents the twine and gets Iona on the board first. With 5:04 left on the clock in the opening frame, number seven Laura Rockett finds the back of the goal, Maeve Ellen Wydan was credited with the assist. Both offenses went on a cold spell for four minutes before Wydan extended the Gael lead to 3-0. Right before the end of the quarter VMI got themselves on the board and trimmed the deficit to two.

The Keydets came out swinging to start the second quarter, scoring three straight goals and taking a one goal lead with 5:37 left. Mailia Naugle found an open Van Reeken to tie the game at 4-4. Another goal by Van Reeken this time on a powerplay gave the Maroon & Gold a two goal lead. Just as time was to expire in the first half Wydan scored her second of the game, giving Iona a 6-4 lead going into the second half.

The halftime adjustment was noticeable, as the Gaels scored five straight goals over the first five minutes of the third quarter. The five goals came from Rockett, Wydan, van Reeken, and Naugle. Iona took a commanding 11-4 lead with just over 10 minutes left to play. 

With two minutes left in the third, the host team climbed back with a 3-0 run themselves. Entering the fourth the Gaels led 11-7 but kept pace with VMI, as both teams scored three goals each. Iona's goals came from Rockett, Van Reeken, and sophomore Amelia Gonzalez. Mary Jane Bailey posted a .545 save percentage and added one steal. Lily Morris played the final minutes in net for the Maroon & Gold.     

UP NEXT

The Maroon and Gold continue MAAC play next weekend, with two games on both Saturday and Sunday. All four games will be at Iona and will be the first home games of the year.  

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Water Polo: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)