Pomona, CA – The Iona women's water polo headed to the West Coast for the Claremont Convergence Tournament in Pomona, CA. The Gaels opened the tournament against No. 2 ranked USC and ended the Friday night against Claremont-Mudd-Scrips. Iona fell in both contests, 22-6 & 15-4. 

#2 USC 22 Iona 6

USC started hot on both ends of the pool to start the game, the Trojans scored six goals in the first quarter while keeping the Gaels off the board. USC started the second quarter like they did the first with three straight goals making it the first nine goals of the game before the Maroon & Gold got on the board off the right arm of Senior Mia Tovar with four minutes left in the first half. USC closed out the first half with two more goals entering the half time break with a 11-1 goal lead. 

The opposition started the scoring in the second half extending their lead to 12 before Freshman Lola Trujillo found the back of the net for the Gaels lone goal in the third quarter. Iona's offense picked up in the fourth quarter with four goals, Freshman Sadie Sallas, Graduate student Malia Naugle, Sydney Brightenburg, and Elizabeth Lovat were responsible for one goal each. Lilly Morris, Sadie Sallas, and Lola Trujillo all saw action in net for the Maroon & Gold. The Gaels out shot the Trojans but USC shot 88% off of 25 shots.   

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 15 Iona 4

Iona's offense started off slow in game two of the Claremont Convergence Tournament. The Gaels were outscored 7-1 in the opening eight minutes. Jordan van Reeken secured her first of the west coast trip making it a 4-1 game with 3:08 left in the first. The second quarter saw very little offense and a lot of defense from both teams as the Athenas scored the only goal of the quarter. 

Gaels entered the second half down seven but the offense failed to spark any momentum to start the comeback. The Maroon & Gold were outscored 7-3 in the second half. Karysn Stewart notched two goals one in each the third and the fourth and freshman Lola Trujillo found the back of the net late in the fourth. Lilly Morris and Sadie Sallas played in net with Sallas picking up the loss. The Gaels outshot their opponent for the second game in a row but CMS shot 68% on 22 shots.  

UP NEXT

The Gaels continue the Claremont Convergence tournament tomorrow with two more games, against La Verne and Pomona Pitzer. .  

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