ERIE, PA –  After splitting yesterday's matches, the Iona women's water polo team rebounded with two convincing non-conference wins today over Pennsylvania State University and Gannon University in the Curtis Robinette Memorial Tournament at the David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center hosted this weekend by Mercyhurst University.

Iona 25  PSU Behrend 8

With the entire squad seeing action and 14 players scoring, Iona coasted to a 25-8 win over PSU Behrend in this morning's game. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason selection and graduate co-captain Jordan Van Reeken and Lola Trujillo led the Gaels (3-1 overall) with three goals each. Graduate co-captain Malia Naugle, junior Amelia Gonzalez, sophomore Addison Collins, freshman Emily Geld, freshman Miranda Miller, freshman Lea Preston, and freshman Sadie Sallas scored two goals each. Graduate student Sidney Brightenburg, senior co-captain Mia Tovar, junior Jori Aventurado, junior Molly Banks, junior Elizabeth Lovat had one goal each. The Gaels scored 25 goals on 33 shots and made 12 assists with two each from Van Reeken, sophomore Remy Ickes and Collins.

In goal, freshman Gabriella Brozovic made 12 saves on 29 Lions shots, made three assists with eight goals against. On defense, Iona made 12 steals with three by Collins and two by Ickes, and blocked three shots with two by Trujillo.  Iona drew seven PSU Behrend kickouts with two each by Banks and Lovat, while being ejected three times. The Gaels turned the ball over nine times and forced six Lions turnovers. Iona won three of four swim-offs.

After Brightenburg got Iona on the board first with 16 seconds gone, Van Reeken reeled off three straight goals for a 4-0 Gaels edge with 5:55 left in the opening period. PSU Behrend answered to pull with three 4-1 on its next trip down the pool, but Iona took off on a 4-0 run with scores from Naugle, Geld's first Gael goal, Trujillo, and Tovar for an 8-1 advantage with one minute left. Twenty seconds later, the Lions trimmed the Gaels edge to six 8-2 going into the second period. After Sallas hit two straight goals, the Gaels continued a 5-0 second-quarter run with Collins scoring, while Preston recorded her first Iona goal. The Lions failed to score as the Gaels led 13-2 at halftime. 

With 28 ticks gone in the third period, the Lions converted a woman-up chance to trim the Gaels margin to ten 13-3. Two unanswered scores by Lovat and Preston put Iona back up 15-3 with 4:41 on the clock. After three straight Penn State Behrend goals, Miller hit her first Iona goal as the Gaels lead 16-6 with 1:26 left. The two squads traded goals in the closing 1:13 with Gonzales scoring as Iona led 17-7 going into the final period. Just 27 seconds into the final period, Gonzales sparked a 5-0 run with goals from Naugle and Miller (her first as a Gael), along with two by Trujillo for a 22-7 Iona margin at the 2:38 mark. Following a Lions score with 2:38 remaining, Banks, Aventurado and Collins found the back of the net to seal Iona's 25-8 win.

Iona 17 Gannon 8

After leading 6-3 going into the second quarter, Iona outscored Gannon 11-5 for the rest of the match for a 17-8 victory in this afternoon's contest. With nine goals on ten shots, Van Reeken led the Gaels and topped her single game career high of seven goals against Gannon here in 2019. Assistant coach Rebecca Matthews holds the single-game record with ten goals. Banks and Stewart scored two goals apiece, while Naugle, Tovar, Gonzalez, Stewart and Collins had one score each. The Gaels scored 17 goals on 27 shots and made 15 assists with three each from Van Reeken and Stewart.

In goal, freshman Nola Trujillo made three saves on 14 Golden Knights shots in the first and third quarters, made one steal with six goals against. Freshman Sadie Sallas made two saves on five Golden Knights shots in the second quarter with one goal against. Freshman Gabrielle Brozovic had two saves on three Gannon shots in the fourth quarter, made one assist and had one goal against.

On defense, Iona made 14 steals with two each by Naugle, Tovar, Collins and Trujillo and Van Reeken blocked three shots. Iona drew eleven Gannon kickouts with two each by Van Reeken, Gonzalez and Miller, while being ejected ten times. The Gaels turned the ball over seven times and forced five Golden Knights turnovers. Iona won three of four swim-offs. Iona scored six goals on eight woman-up chances, while Gannon scored on three of eight chances. With 1:23 gone in the match, Van Reeken got Iona on the board first, but Gannon answered just 18 seconds later to knot the game at one apiece.

Two straight Iona goals from Naugle and Van Reeken on a 6-5 chance pulled the Gaels ahead by two 3-2 with 4:17 left. The Golden Knights capitalized on a woman-up chance, but Banks did the same to put the Gaels back up two 4-2 at the 2:47 mark. Another Gannon 6-5 goal cut the Iona edge back to one 4-3 just 1:01 later. Two straight woman-up Iona goals from Van Reeken and Collins built a three-score 6-3 lead going into the second period. Van Reeken's fourth score just 56 seconds into the second quarter put the Gaels up four 7-3. Continuing a 5-0 Iona run, Stewart struck twice for a six-goal 9-3 Iona advantage with 3:15 to go. After Van Reeken's fifth goal on a woman-up chance, Gannon also answered with a 6-5 score with 52 ticks left to trim Iona's margin back to six 10-4 at halftime.  

After a Gannon goal with 1:31 gone in the third period, two more Van Reeken scores increased the Gaels edge to seven 12-5 at the 5:16 mark. Following another Golden Knights goal, Gonzalez upped the Iona edge back to seven 13-6. Gannon scored on its next possession, but Banks answered with her second goal giving Iona a 14-7 lead going into the final period. Van Reeken notched her eighth goal with 4:57 remaining in regulation for a 15-7 edge. Following a Gannon woman-up goal 40 seconds later, two straight Iona scores by Tovar and Van Reeken's ninth on a pool-length assist by Brozovic with 47 ticks left sealed the Iona win.

COACH THOUGHTS

Despite the close loss to Bucknell on Saturday, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was pleased with his team's season-opening performance. "Overall, it was a good opening weekend for us," Kelly said. "We had a chance to win all four games and learned a ton about our team. I'm looking forward to reviewing the film and improving.  We have a busy upcoming schedule." 

UP NEXT

This coming weekend, the Gaels travel to Princeton University for four road matches in the Princeton Invite. On Friday, Iona takes on LaSalle University at 5 p.m., and gets a rematch with Bucknell University at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Iona faces Harvard University at 2:30 p.m., and Chapman University at 7 p.m

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona Athletics on all social media platforms:
IonaGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Water Polo: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)