PRINCETON, NJ – Despite promising offensive performances in select quarters, the Iona University men's water polo failed to do the same on defense in two non-conferences losses falling 17-11 to Santa Clara University and 15-9 to George Washington University today at the 2022 Princeton Invitational hosted here this weekend by Princeton University.

Santa Clara 17 Iona 11

After being outscored 8-2 in the opening period, Iona kept nearly even 9-8 with Santa Clara, but fell short 17-11 in this morning's non-conference match. Senior Lester Machado, sophomore William Harrington and freshman Sole Fratila lead the Gaels (2-6 overall) with two goals apiece. Graduate co-captain Justin Ginsburg, senior Mohamed Refaat, sophomore Luksa Vlasic, freshman Edward Imm. The Gaels made 10 goals on 27 shots with nine assists with two each by Ginsburg and Fratila.

In goal, junior Diego Gomez had 14 saves on 34 Broncos shots, made one steal and had 17 goals against. On defense, the Gaels had ten steals with two by Refaat and blocked four shots. Iona drew 11 Broncos kick outs with four by junior co-captain Andrew Miller, while being ejected 11 times. Iona scored four goals on 11 man-up chances, while Santa Clara scored five goals on 11 man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over 12 times.

Santa Clara struck first on a five-meter penalty goal with 13 seconds gone in the match for a 1-0 edge, then followed with a score on its next possession to lead 2-0 with 6:50 left in the opening period. Scoring on their next chance, the Broncos continued a 3-0 run until Refaat got Iona on the board to get within two 3-1 with 6:06 left. Two consecutive Santa Clara scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, gave the Broncos a 5-1 advantage at the 5:25 mark. After two more Broncos goals, Machado got the Gales back within five 5-2 with 1:38 left.  With two ticks left, another Santa Clara score resulted in an 8-2 Broncos lead going into the second period. 

Santa Clara opened the second quarter with a goal for a 9-2 edge with 48 ticks gone. Vlasic ignited a 3-0 Gaels run at the 2:28 mark, followed by two straight scores by Fratila to slice the Broncos advantage to four 9-5 with 1:56 left.  After Santa Clara tacked on two goals to go back up six 1-5, Imm trimmed that edge to five 11-6 with 24 seconds left.   The Broncos closed the quarter 16 ticks later for a 12-6 halftime advantage.

Iona outscored Santa Clara 3-2 in the third quarter. With 20 seconds gone in the third period, the Broncos went up seven 13-6. Following another Broncos score, Harrington capitalized on a 6-5 chance, then followed with another score to narrow the Santa Clara edge to six 14-8 with 2:26 remaining. Thirty-four seconds later, Ginsburg continued a 3-0 Gaels rally as Iona pulled within five 14-9 going into the final period.

Neither squad scored in the fourth period until two unanswered Broncos goals increased the Santa Clara cushion to seven 16-9 with 3:05 remaining in regulation. Machado scored on a man-up chance with 1:08 left followed by a Broncos 6-5 goal with 12 ticks left to seal the win.

George Washington 15 Iona 9

After two leads and three ties in the first half, Iona trailed by only three goals going into the final period, but allowed five straight Colonials goals in a 15-9 non-conference loss to George Washington in this afternoon's match. Refaat led the Gaels with three goals, while Ginsburg had two scores. Machado, sophomore Edward Howaniec, Fratila and freshman Rastko Jevdjovic had one goal each. The Gaels scored nine goals on 32 shots on seven assists with two each from Refaat and sophomore Luka Nastic.

In goal, senior Kyle Laufenberg had 15 saves, including stopping a five-meter penalty shot, on 30 Colonials shots, made one steal and had 14 goals against. In the fourth quarter, freshman Aleksandar Slavkovic had one save on two Colonials shots. On defense, the Gaels had eight steals and blocked three shots with two by Refaat. Iona drew eight Colonials kickouts with five by Vlasic, and one five-meter penalty, while being ejected eight times. Iona scored four goals on eight man-up chances, while George Washington scored five goals on seven man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over ten times.

George Washington struck first for a 1-0 lead with 1:09 gone in the match. Refaat answered to tie the score at one with 4:22 left in the opening period. Two straight Colonials scores in the closing 3:44 gave George Washington a 3-1 edge going into the second quarter.

Ginsburg needed only 43 seconds into the second period to pull Iona within one 3-2. Jerdjovic followed to knot the score at two with 6:24 to go. Continuing a 3-0 Gaels run, Ginsburg capitalized on a 6-5 advantage as Iona took a 4-3 lead at the 5:48 mark. The Colonials retied the game at four each with 1:26 left. Twenty-six ticks later, George Washington retook a one-goal advantage 5-4 at intermission.  

With 14 seconds gone in the third period, the Colonials continued a 3-0 run to go up two 6-4. On the Gaels next trip down the pool, Fratila pulled Iona back within one 5-4 with 6:18 left. Two straight Colonials goals gave George Washington a three-goal cushion 8-5 at the 5:26 mark. After a Gaels timeout, Refaat buried a five-meter penalty shot to slice the Colonials lead to two 8-6. Refaat's third goal on Iona's next possession got the Gaels back within one 8-7, but George Washington responded for a two-goal 9-7 lead with 3:55 on the clock. With 1:22 remaining, the Colonials tacked on another straight score to lead 10-7 going into the final period. 
 
Machado's goal cut the George Washington edge to two 8-10 with 6:22 left in the fourth period, but two straight Colonials goals built a 12-9 lead at 4:57. After Laufenberg stopped a five-meter penalty shot, George Washington continued its 5-0 run for a seven-goal 15-8 margin at the 1:07 mark. Howaniec scored with 49 seconds left as Iona failed to rally.

PLAYER THOUGHTS

Despite the four losses this weekend, the team's three co-captains agreed that their teammates learned much against four tough opponents in preparation for conference play. "It was a productive weekend," Miller said.  "We started up slow, but we picked it up. We have a lot to learn, but we had a good weekend."

"A lot of great moments, but undesirable outcomes," Ginsburg said. "We grew as a team and are getting to know how each other play. We are looking forward to it." 

"We started off the games pretty strong, but we struggled to finish," Refaat said. "We are going to use these games to grow and learn from them."

UP NEXT

Next weekend, the Gaels travel to Colorado Springs, CO, for five non-conference matches in the 2022 Air Force Invitational hosted by the United States Air Force Academy. On Friday, Iona takes on host Air Force at 12:30 p.m. ET and Westcliff University at 7 p.m. ET. On Saturday, the Gaels face Chapman University at 10:30 a.m. ET and the University of La Verne at 4:30 p.m. ET. On Sunday, Iona plays the University of Redlands at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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