COLORADO SPRINGS, CO  In a see-saw match that featured four lead changes and nine ties, the Iona University men's water polo team snapped a three-game non-conference win streak with  a last-second 14-13 loss this morning to Division III Redlands University (CA) at the Rare Air Challenge hosted this weekend by the United States Air Force Academy.

GAME SUMMARY

Junior co-captain Andrew Miller and senior Lester Machado led the Gaels with three goals each, while sophomore Luksa Vlasic and freshman Sole Fratila scored two goals each.  Senior co-captain Mohamed Refaat, junior Trippe Bauman, and freshman Rastko Jevdjovic had one score apiece. Iona made 13 goals on 32 shots with eight assists.

In goal, junior Diego Gomez had eight saves on 25 Bulldogs shots, made one steal and had 13 goals against. On defense, the Maroon and Gold had eight steals with two each from Fratila and freshman Coby Scanlon and blocked four shots with two each from Refaat and Jevdjovic. Iona drew Redlands University nine kickouts with four kickouts drawn by Vlasic and three by Scanlon, while being ejected eight times. The Gaels turned the ball over six times.  The Gaels scored three goals on seven man-up chances, while the Bulldogs scored five goals on eight man-up opportunities.

Redlands got on the board first with a five-meter penalty goal with 41 seconds gone in the match. Jevdjovic answered on the Gaels next possession to tie the score at one all with 6:56 left in the opening period.  With 3:04 to go, Iona took the lead 2-1 on Miller's goal. Redlands re-tied the game at two with 1:14 on the clock, but Bauman put Iona back up one 3-2 just 21 ticks later going into the second period.

A Redlands score with 46 seconds gone in the second period re-tied the game for the third time at three. Iona retook a one-goal edge on Fratila's first goal with 5:55 remaining. With two straight goals, Redlands tied the game, then took the lead 5-4 at the 1:11 mark. On the Gaels next possession 30 seconds later, Fratila's second score resulted in a five-all halftime tie.  

With 1:32 gone in the third quarter, Miller's second score put Iona back up one 6-5. Refaat followed on the Gaels next trip down the pool for a two-goal edge 7-5 with 5:03 left. A Redlands five-meter penalty goal pulled the Bulldogs back within one 7-6 only five ticks later. Another Bulldogs goal produced a seven-all tie with 4:12 remaining. Two straight Gaels scores from Machado and Miller gave Iona two-goal 9-7 advantage with 3:27 on the clock.   

 Following a Redlands goal, Vlasic built a two-score Iona margin with 2:42 remaining. In the closing 55 seconds, two unanswered Bulldogs scores, including a man-up goal with one tick left, resulted in a ten-all tie going into the final period. On Vlasic's second score, Iona retook a one-goal edge with 28 seconds gone in the fourth period. After Machado's second goal put the Gaels back up two 12-10, the Bulldogs answered to slice Iona's edge back to one 12-11 with 5:41 left. 

Two consecutive Redlands goals knotted the match for the eighth time at 12, then gave the Bulldogs a one-goal edge with 1:45 remaining in regulation. Machado's third goal with 15 ticks left knotted the score at 13, but the Bulldogs scored on a man-up chance with two seconds remaining for the win, as a last-second Iona shot fell short.  

UP NEXT

Beginning their conference schedule on October 1 and 2, the Gaels host four North East Water Polo Conference opponents at Hynes Pool. On Saturday, October 1, Iona takes on Harvard University at 10 a.m. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. On Sunday, October 2, Iona faces Brown University at 1:30 p.m., and Connecticut College at 4:30 p.m.

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