PHILADELPHIA, PA  – With today's two narrow Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference road losses, the Iona women's water polo team will not qualify for the conference championships for the second straight season after losing to Villanova University 8-6 and LaSalle University 17-16.

Villanova 8 Iona 6

Despite a two-goal second-quarter lead, Iona fell by two 8-6 to Villanova in this afternoon's match that featured four ties and two lead changes. Graduate student Jordan van Reeken and senior Sydney Brightenburg led the Maroon and Gold with two goals each, while senior Maeve Ellen Wydan and sophomore Kaya Hart both scored once.  The Gaels scored six goals on 21 shots and made two assists. 

In goal, freshman Mary Jane Bailey made nine saves on 17 Villanova shots and two steals with eight goals against. On defense, Iona made seven steals with three by Wydan and blocked three Wildcats shots. Iona drew six Villanova kickouts with four ejections and a five-meter penalty by graduate student Laura Rockett, while being ejected 14 times.  Van Reeken and graduate student Danielle Hernandez were disqualified.   

With 2:10 gone in the match, Villanova got on the board first for a 1-0 edge. Van Reeken tied the game at one on a five-meter penalty goal drawn by Rockett with 3:06 remaining. After a Wildcats man-up goal, Brightenburg found the back of the net to knot the match at two with 1:06 on the clock. Hart followed with 24 ticks to go as the Gaels took a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

Van Reeken's second score gave Iona a two-goal advantage with 4:28 remaining in the second period. Two straight Villanova scores in the next 1:11 re-tied the match at four with 3:07 left. Despite van Reeken's last-second shot, the game remained tied at four-all at intermission. The Wildcats needed only 13 seconds into the third quarter to retake a one-goal lead 5-4. Just 1:03 later, Wydan re-knotted the score at five each. The hosts scored on a 6-4 chance to retake the lead 6-5 with 4:01 left. Another Villanova goal 1:06 later gave the Wildcats two-score lead going into the fourth quarter.

Villanova opened the final period with a man-up goal to up its edge to three 8-5 with 1:24 gone. After a Gaels timeout, Brightenburg's second goal sliced the home edge back to two 8-6 with 3:30 remaining. Neither squad scored for the rest of the match as Villanova held on for the win.

LaSalle 17 Iona 16

In a see-saw match featuring 12 ties and four lead changes, Iona clung to a one-goal lead with 3:51 left, but allowed three straight La Salle goals in a 17-16 loss, which ended the Gaels chances of post-season play. Hart led the Gaels with five goals on seven shots, while Wydan scored three. Graduate student Danielle Hernandez and van Reeken scored two goals apiece, and graduate student Laura Rockett, Brightenburg, junior Mia Tovar and freshman Nikki Salerno had one goal each.  The Gaels scored 16 goals on 27 shots with five assists.

In goal, Bailey made nine saves on 27 LaSalle shots and two steals with 15 goals against. On defense, Iona made eight steals and blocked one Explorers shot. Iona drew seven LaSalle kickouts with three by van Reeken, while being ejected 11 times. Rockett, Hernandez and senior Malia Naugle were disqualified with three ejections each. The Gaels turned the ball over seven times. Iona scored two goals on seven man-up chances, while the Explorers scored five goals on 11 man-up opportunities.

With 2:09 gone in the match, LaSalle struck first, but Wydan answered on Iona's next possession 14 seconds later to knot the score at one each. Fifty ticks later, Hart's goal gave the Gaels a one-score lead 2-1 with 4:47 left in the opening period. Hart struck again with 1:53 on the clock to up the Gaels edge to two 3-1. Three straight Explorers scores in the closing 1:22 gave the hosts a 4-3 advantage going into the second period.

Hernandez needed only 33 seconds into the second quarter to even the score for the third time at four each.  An Explorers goal gave the home squad a 5-4 one-point lead with 5:25 on the clock, then Rockett re-tied the game at five apiece on Iona's next chance 15 seconds later. On another Gaels goal by Salerno, Iona regained the lead 6-5 with 3:25 left.  But at the 2:10 mark, the Explorers answered for the game's fifth tie resulting in a six-all deadlock at intermission.

Hart's third score put Iona back on top 7-6 with 25 seconds gone in the third period. Over the next 2:23 both squads took off on a goal-trading spree. LaSalle tied the game at seven, then Wydan's second goal restored Iona's one-point lead 8-7. The Explorers answered for the match's seventh tie at eight each, then Hart's fourth score put Iona back up two 11-9 with 6:06 left. After Brightenburg gave the Gaels a two-goal 10-9 cushion with 34 ticks left, the Explorers cut the Iona edge back to one 11-10 going into the final period.

With 28 seconds gone in the fourth quarter, LaSalle tied the game again at 11 each.  On the Gaels next possession, Hernandez gave Iona back a one-point lead 12-11 with 6:55 left. On their next trip down the pool, the Explorers forced the game's ninth time at 12 apiece. Eleven ticks later, van Reeken put Iona back up one 13-12, the hosts answered for a 13-all tie.   

Six seconds later, van Reeken's second score restored a one-goal Gaels edge, but a five-meter LaSalle penalty shot knotted the game for the 11th time at 14 with 5:34 remaining. Following Wydan's third goal giving Iona a one-score edge again at the 3:51 mark, the Explorers sealed the win with three straight scores in the closing 1:54, including a man-up and an empty-net goal, despite Tovar's last-second score.

COACH THOUGHTS

Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed with the two losses on a "tough day" for his squad. "Today was a tough day for us," Kelly said.  "It's a tough and competitive conference.  Our whole season has been filled with close wins and close losses. We are consistently inconsistent."

UP NEXT

On Sunday, the Gaels travel to Wagner College for a 1 p.m. match against the first-place Seahawks. 

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