NEW ROCHELLE April 15 – Even losing early leads in both Metro Atlantic Athletic Conferences home matches, the Iona University women's water polo team mounted late-game rallies for a 17-11 win over Siena College and a 12-10 victory over St. Francis College (Brooklyn) today at Hynes Pool.  With the two MAAC wins, the Gaels qualified for the conference championships at Marist College from April 28-30.

Iona 17 Siena 11

Despite four ties and one lead change in the first half, Iona outscored Siena 8-4 in the second half for a 17-11 conference win in this afternoon's first match. Freshman Lola Trujillo led the Maroon & Gold (16-11 overall, 7-5 MAAC) with five goals on ten shots, while graduate co-captain Jordan Van Reeken had four goals on seven shots.  Graduate student Karsyn Stewart and freshman Jenna Handali each scored twice. Senior co-captain Mia Tovar, graduate student Sydney Brightenburg, junior goalie Lily Morris and freshman Sadie Sallas had one goal apiece. The Gaels scored 17 goals on 34 shots and made five assists with two by Handali.

In goal, Morris made three saves on 17 Saints shots, scored one goal, made four steals and one assist with 11 goals against. On defense, Iona made 14 steals and blocked two shots. Iona drew eight Siena kickouts with three by Van Reeken, while being ejected nine times. Trujillo won all four swim-offs. The Gaels turned the ball over seven times.  Iona scored three goals on eight woman-up chances, while Siena scored four on nine chances.  

After Siena struck first, Brightenburg got Iona on the board for a one-all tie with 1:25 gone in the match.  Following Tovar's goal to put the Gaels up one 2-1, the Saints answered for a two-all tie with 4:37 on the clock. Two unanswered Iona scores by Van Reeken and Handali gave the hosts two-goal 4-2 edge with 3:24 remaining. The two straight visitors' goals re-tied the match at four at the 3:04 mark. With 1:43 left, Iona retook a one-goal 5-4 lead on Sallas' score going into the second period.

With 1:06 gone in the second quarter, the Saints re-tied the match at five. On the Gaels next possession, Van Reeken's second score followed by Trujillo gave Iona a two-goal edge 7-5 with 4:57 remaining.  Just 55 ticks later, Stewart continued a 3-0 Iona run for an 8-5 edge. Following a Siena goal, Handali's second score restored a three-goal 9-6 home lead at halftime.

Siena sliced the Iona lead back to one 9-8 with 1:34 gone in the third period, but Stewart answered with her second goal for a two-goal 10-8 advantage with 6:04 to go. The Saints capitalized on a 6-5 chance to cut the home lead to one 10-9 with 3:13 on the clock. In the closing 1:36, two straight Trujillo goals gave Iona a three-goal 12-9 going into the final period.

Trujillo continued her personal 3-0 run into the fourth period to put Iona up four 13-9 with just 47 seconds gone. After Siena scored a woman-up goal, Van Reeken did the same for her third score followed by Trujillo's fifth goal as Iona led by five 15-10 with 4:10 to go. Siena sliced the Iona margin back to four 15-11, but Van Reeken's fourth score put the Gaels up five 16-11 at the 2:25 mark. With 16 seconds left, Morris' pool-length score resulted in the Gaels largest lead 17-11 to seal the win much to the delight of the Iona faithful.

Iona 12 St. Francis (Brooklyn) 10

After leading by a single score at halftime, Iona allowed St. Francis to take a 6-4 lead on a 4-0 third quarter run, but rallied for a second straight conference 12-10 win this evening over the Terriers. Handali led Iona with three scores on x shots, while Brightenburg, sophomore Emily Geld and Trujillo had two goals apiece. Junior Amelia Gonzalez, sophomore Addison Collins and Sallas each had one score. The Gaels scored 12 goals on 33 shots and made five assists.

In goal, Morris made six saves on 16 Terriers shots, made seven steals with ten goals against. On defense, Iona made 13 steals and blocked two shots. Iona drew 13 St. Francis kick outs with five by Van Reeken, while being ejected nine times, including two five-meter penalties. Trujillo won all four swim-offs. The Gaels turned the ball over 14 times. Iona scored three goals on 12 woman-up chances, while St. Francis scored five on eight chances. Neither squad scored until Trujillo found the back of the net with 1:14 left in the opening period.  Brightenburg's five-meter penalty shot goal 26 ticks later gave Iona a 2-0 lead going into the second period as St. Francis failed to score in the opening quarter.

After the Terriers got on the board with a woman-up goal at the 5:34 mark, Handali's score put the Gaels back up two 3-1 with 4:27 left in the second quarter. The visitors answered, but Handali struck again with her second goal to up the home edge to two with 2:28 on the clock.  A St. Francis' score with 1:02 left cut the Iona edge back to one 4-3 at halftime.

A second straight Terriers goal with 42 seconds gone in the third period resulted in a four-all tie. Two more St. Francis' goal within 29 seconds gave the Terriers the lead and a two-goal 6-4 cushion with 5:33 remaining. After Gonzalez ended the Gaels offensive drought, Collins struck to knot the game at six-all with 4:20 left. The teams traded goals with Geld tying the score at seven with 3:42 to go. St. Francis retook a one-goal edge 8-7, but Sallas scored to pull Iona even at eight all at 2:45 on the clock. With 1:14 left, the Gaels retook a one-score 9-8 lead on Handali's third goal going into the final period.

With 1:07 gone, Trujillo continued a 3-0 Iona run into the fourth period to put Iona up two 10-8.  A minute later, a St. Francis five-meter penalty score sliced the home lead back to one 10-9.   At the five-minute mark, Brightenburg's second goal put Iona back up two 11-9. Geld's second score upped the Gaels edge to three 12-9 with 2:31 left to seal the win, despite a Terriers final-seconds score.

COACH THOUGHTS

Despite some lapses at both ends of the pool, Iona head coach Brian Kelly celebrated "a big day" with the two championship-qualifying victories. "These were two huge wins for us today against two well-coached physical teams," Kelly said.  "You can't win a championship until you qualify for championships. This was a big day for us."

UP NEXT

On Sunday, the Gaels conclude their three-game homestand against 25th-ranked Marist College at 1:15 p.m. EDT to wrap up the regular season.

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