LOUDONVILLE, NY –  After splitting yesterday's Brooklyn road trip, the Iona women's water polo team finished the regular season with 11-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Siena College here this afternoon which resulted in a winning overall season record.

GAME SUMMARY

Senior Maeve Ellen Wydan led the Gaels with four goals, while senior Karsyn Stewart scored twice. Graduate student Jordan van Reeken, graduate student Laura Rockett, graduate student Danielle Hernandez, senior Sydney Brightenburg and sophomore Kaya Hart had one goal each. Iona scored eleven goals on 34 shots and made 10 assists with three from senior Malia Naugle.

In goal, freshman Mary Jane Bailey made six saves on 11 Siena shots with four goals against in the first and third quarters. Sophomore Lilly Morris made eight saves on 12 Siena shots, made one steal with three goals against in the second and fourth quarters. On defense, Iona made eight steals with two each from van Reeken and Brightenburg, and Wydan blocked two Saints shots. 

Iona drew 11 Siena kick outs and one five-meter penalty shot with van Reeken drawing six, while being ejected five times, including one five-meter ejection. The Gaels turned the ball over eight times. Iona scored six goals on eleven man-up chances, while the Saints scored one goal on five man-up opportunities.

With 3:52 gone in the match, Hart capitalized on a man-up chance for a 1-0 Iona lead. Siena answered 1:18 later to even the score at one with 2:50 left in the opening period. Stewart restored the Gaels one-goal edge on Iona's next trip down the pool to lead 2-1 with 2:09 left.

Forty-five ticks into the second period, the hosts tied the match at two each, but van Reeken put Iona back up one 3-2 only 33 seconds later. Wydan upped the Gaels edge to two 4-2 at the 5:44 mark. Hernandez's goal continued a 3-0 Iona run for a 5-2 advantage with 4:08 on the clock. With two seconds on the shot clock, Brightenburg scored Iona's fourth straight goal for a 6-2 Gaels halftime margin.

Neither squad scored in the third period until Siena's goal with 4:14 remaining to trim the visitor's margin back to three 6-3. A second unanswered Saints score got the hosts within two 6-4 with 3:12 to go. On consecutive Gaels possessions, Stewart and Wydan put Iona back up four 8-4 with 2:15 left. With 51 seconds left, the Saints chopped the Gaels edge back to three 8-5 going into the final period.

Just 14 seconds into the final period, the Saints lowered the Gaels lead to two 8-6. Rockett answered with 6:50 left as Iona went back up three 9-6. Wydan's third score built a four-goal Iona margin with 4:52 on the clock. After hitting a five-meter penalty goal to slice the Gaels lead to three 10-7, the Saints pulled their goalie on their next offensive chance. Fuher chased down an errant pass at the other end of the pool, then drew a five-meter penalty, which resulted in Wydan's fourth score to seal the win.

COACH THOUGHTS

Although pleased to end the season with a win, head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed that his squad will miss the MAAC Championships for the second straight year. "It's been a tough, competitive season for us," Kelly said. "We've been involved in so many close games, it's really disappointing that we did not get into the championship. We could have done some damage there."

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)