LEXINGTON, VA – Down by only two goals at halftime, the Iona women's water polo team was outscored 8-5 in the second half to fall 14-9 to Long Island University in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match this afternoon at Virginia Military Institute.

GAME SUMMARY

Graduate student Karsyn Stewart and freshman Sadie Sallas led the Gaels (12-10 overall, 4-4 MAAC) with two goals apiece. Graduate student Sydney Brightenburg, graduate co-captain Jordan Van Reeken, sophomore Emily Geld, freshman Jenna Handall and freshman Lola Trujillo. Iona scored nine goals on 32 shots and made six assists.

In goal, junior Lily Morris made seven saves on 28 Sharks shots, had one steal and two assists with 14 goals against. On defense, Iona made eight steals with two each by Brightenburg and Sallas. Iona drew 13 LIU kickouts with four by Van Reeken, while being ejected ten times. The Gaels turned the ball over ten times. Trujillo won three of four swim-offs. Iona scored four goals on eight woman-up chances.

After LIU got on the board first with 50 seconds gone in the opening period, Trujillo answered just 25 ticks later to knot the game at one all with 6:45 on the clock. The Sharks went back up one 2-1 on their next trip down the pool, then Stewart took advantage of a woman-up chance to re-tie the match at two each at the 5:36 mark. Van Reeken did the same for a one-goal 3-2 Iona edge with 4:40 to go. The Sharks scored with 3:55 remaining for a three-all tie going into the second period.

Twenty-two seconds into the second period, LIU regained a one-goal 4-3 edge, then continued a 3-0 run to lead 5-3 with 6:48 to go. Handall ended the Iona offensive drought with a breakaway score on a Morris assist to get the Gaels back within one 5-4 with 3:56 left. A Sharks score with 1:33 left gave LIU a two-goal 6-4 halftime advantage. With 56 seconds gone in the third period, the Sharks fired in a rebound, then hit a five-meter penalty shot for a four-goal 8-4 margin with 6:22 remaining.  

Two more straight LIU goals continued a 5-0 run for a 10-4 advantage with 3:37 left. After another unanswered Sharks score, in the closing 1:09, Sallas's woman-up goal followed by Stewart's second score pulled the Gaels back within five 11-6 going into the final period. Brightenburg's goal on a pool-length Morris assist continued a 3-0 Iona rally until LIU scored twice for a 12-7 advantage with 3:07 gone in the final period. Sallas' second goal cut the Sharks lead back to five 13-8 with 4:37 to go. Geld's goal on a 6-4 advantage with 51 ticks left got Iona within five 14-9, but the Gaels rally fell short.

COACH THOUGHTS

While disappointed that his squad did not win all three games this weekend, Iona head coach Brian Kelly praised the team's overall effort, especially in goal. "This wasn't the record we wanted to have coming out of this weekend, "Kelly said.  "We played very well through most of the games except one bad quarter against LIU.   Lily Morris really played well and gave us a chance to win every game."

UP NEXT

Next weekend, the Gaels travel to Villanova University to face Virginia Military Institute on Friday at 6:30 p.m. EDT, and Wagner College at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

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