CAMBRIDGE, MA After this morning's 17-12 non-conference win over the University of California Merced, the Iona men's water polo team suffered a narrow 12-11 loss this afternoon to Wagner College for the second time this season at the 2023 Harvard Invite hosted here by Harvard University.
Iona 17 UC Merced 12
In a seesaw match that featured nine ties and six lead changes, Iona outscored UC Merced 5-2 in the final period for a 17-12 non-conference win this morning. Senior tri-captain Andrew Miller led the Maroon and Gold with six goals on ten shots, while junior tri-captain Luksa Vlasic had four goals on eight shots. Junior Edward Imm scored three goals, and junior William Harrington had two. Senior tri-captain Trippe Bauman and sophomore Rastko Jevdjovic added one goal apiece. The Gaels scored 17 goals on 33 shots on 12 assists with three by Miller. Sophomore Coby Scanlon won three of four swimoffs.
In goal, senior Diego Gomez had 13 saves on 30 Bobcats shots, made one steal, two assists and had 12 goals against. On defense, the Gaels made 15 steals with seven by Vlasic. Iona blocked three UC Merced shots. Iona drew 14 UC Merced kickouts with six from Miller and five from Vlasic, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected nine times, including one five-meter ejection. Senior James DiSalle fouled out. The Gaels turned the ball over ten times. Iona scored on seven of 11 man-up chances, while UC Merced scored three on eight man-up chances.
With 1:50 gone in the match, Miller got Iona on the board first for a 1-0 lead. The Bobcats answered on their next possession with a man-up score to tie the game at one each with 5:27 left in the opening period. UC Merced lobbed in a loose ball to take a 2-1 advantage with 3:28 remaining. On the Gaels next trip down the pool, Vlasic retied the game at two all at the 2:30 mark. A minute later, Miller's second score put Iona up one 3-2 going into the second quarter.
Just 58 ticks into the second period, the Bobcats tied the score for the third time at three apiece, then tacked on a five-meter penalty to retake a one-goal edge 4-3 with 6:24 on the clock. The Gaels answered two straight scores by Vlasic and Miller to go back up one 5-4 with 5:29 remaining. UC Merced took advantage of a man-up chance resulting in a five-all tie with 4:24 left. The Gaels did the same to retake the lead for the fourth time 6-5, but that edge only lasted 25 seconds when the Bobcats tied the score for the sixth time at six all. With two straight goals from Miller and Harrington in the closing 1:23, Iona built a two-goal 8-6 halftime cushion.
The Bobcats needed only 1:53 into the third quarter to overcome the Gaels two-goal lead and tie the game at eight each. With 3:31 remaining, Imm put Iona back up one 9-8, but UC Merced scored 15 seconds later for a nine-all tie.  Another straight Bobcats score resulted in the match's fifth lead change with UC Merced going up one 10-9 at the 2:26 mark. The Gaels mounted a 3-0 run with goals from Imm, Miller and Jevdjovic in the closing 1:53 for a two-score 12-10 margin going into the final period.
After a UC Merced score with 41 seconds gone in fourth period, two man-up Iona goals from Vlasic and Harrington increased the Gaels edge to three 14-11 with 5:59 left. Imm's third goal continued a 3-0 Iona run to build a four-score 15-11 margin at the 4:19 mark. With two goals from Bauman and Miller, the Gaels sustained a 5-0 run to a six-score 17-11 advantage with 1:54 left. The Bobcats scored with 30 ticks left as Iona held on for the 17-12 win.
Wagner 12 Iona 11
Leading by one goal with 2:52 remaining in the match, Iona allowed two straight Wagner goals as the Seahawks pulled out a single-score 12-11 win in this afternoon's match.  At the Princeton Invitational on Sept. 8, the Gaels fell 15-13 to the Seahawks. Vlasic led the Maroon and Gold with five goals on nine shots, while Miller had three goals on six shots. Bauman, DiSalle, and Jevdjovic added one goal apiece. The Gaels scored 11 goals on 34 shots on seven assists with three by Bauman. Sophomore Coby Scanlon won three of four swimoffs.
In goal, sophomore Aleksandar Slavkovic had eight saves on 21 Seahawks shots, made two steals, two assists and had 12 goals against. On defense, the Gaels made ten steals with three by Vlasic. Senior Jack Folan blocked two Wagner shots. Iona drew 10 Wagner kickouts with four by DiSalle, including two five-meter penalties, while being ejected four times, including three five-meter ejections. The Gaels turned the ball over nine times. Iona scored on two of ten man-up chances, while the Seahawks scored two on four man-up chances.
With 1:10 gone in the match, Miller got Iona on the board first for a 1-0 lead. DiSalle followed to give the Gaels a 2-0 advantage with 3:56 remaining in the opening period, but the Seahawks first goal 30 seconds later sliced the Iona advantage to one 2-1. Wagner evened the score at two each on a five-meter penalty show with 2:32 on the clock.  With two more unanswered goals in the closing 1:41, the Seahawks continued a 4-0 run to go up two 4-2 going into the second period.
After Jevdjovic got the Gaels back within one 5-4, the Seahawks answered to regain a two-goal edge 5-3 with 1:05 gone in the second quarter. After Bauman missed a five-meter penalty shot, Wagner converted one to build a three-goal cushion 6-3 with 2:12 remaining. Just 1:02 later, Miller's second score sliced the Seahawks advantage back to two 6-4. With one tick left, Vlasic on a Slavkovic assist launched a shot from deep in the Wagner zone which skipped into the goal at the buzzer to pull Iona within one 6-5 at halftime.
After Wagner retook a two-goal edge 7-5, Vlasic's second goal cut the Seahawks lead back to one 7-6 with 5:33 left in the third period. Bauman hit a five-meter penalty shot to tie the match at seven all with 3:34 to go. With 41 seconds left, Wagner went back up one 8-7. But with one second to go, Nastic took advantage of a man-up chance to knot the match at eight apiece going into the final period.
With neither squad scoring for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, Vlasic's third goal broke the tie and put the Gaels up one 9-8 with 5:05 left in regulation. A Wagner goal resulted in the game's fourth tie at nine apiece with 3:56 remaining. The Gaels regained a one-goal 10-9 edge on Vlasic's fourth score, but Wagner answered to knot the game at ten each. On the Gaels next trip down the pool, Vlasic struck again, but Wagner did the same at the other end for an eleven-all tie with 2:39 left. After the Seahawks retook a one-goal 12-11 lead, the Gaels failed to score in last 44 seconds.
Although disappointed with splitting this weekend's four games, Iona head coach Brian Kelly noted improvements in his squad's defensive efforts. "We knew this weekend that every game was going to be close," Kelly said. "If we cleaned up a few areas and made a few more plays we could have gone four and 0 this weekend. I'm pleased with the improvements we've been making, especially on defense."
UP NEXT
On October 28 and 29, Iona returns to New England for three Northeast Water Polo Conference matches. The Gaels take on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at noon, and Harvard University at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 28. The Gaels travel to Providence, RI, to face Brown University at 3 p.m., on Sunday, October 29.
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