BRONX, NY Down by nine at halftime, the Iona men's water polo team managed only two goals in the second half in a 23-6 non-conference loss to number-six ranked Fordham University in the annual Dr. Francis X. Judge Cup matchup at the Colonel Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center this afternoon.

GAME SUMMARY

Graduate student James DiSalle and senior co-captain Luksa Vlasic led the Maroon and Gold (8-10 overall, 3-3 NEWPC) with two goals each, while graduate co-captain Mohamed Refaat and junior Rastko Jevdjovic added one score each. The Gaels scored six goals on 30 shots and made six assists with two from graduate co-captain Trippe Bauman.  

In the goal, freshman Eric Caplener had seven saves on 28 Rams shots, one steal, 22 goals against, and blocked two five-meter penalty attempts. In the fourth quarter, freshman P.J. Bartzen had two saves on six Rams shots, one steal, and had four goals against. On defense, the Gaels made 11 steals with three by Jevdjovic. Iona blocked three Fordham shots. The Gaels drew nine Fordham kickouts with two each by DiSalle, Vlasic and junior Coby Scanlon, while being ejected eight times, including five five-meter penalties. Iona scored one man-up goal on six chances, while Fordham scored two on eight man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over 22 times. Scanlon won two of four swim offs.

Refaat needed just 33 seconds to get Iona on the board first. The Rams tied the game on a man-up chance at one with 5:38 remaining in the opening quarter. Fordham ran off six straight scores, including two five-meter penalty goals, for a 6-1 lead with 2:09 left. After another Rams goal, Vlasic capitalized on a 6-5 advantage with 26 ticks left to cut the hosts edge back to five 7-2 going into the second period.

The Rams opened the second period with three consecutive scores to go up nine 11-2 with 4:17 left. Vlasic's second goal narrowed the Rams lead to eight 11-3 with 3:50 on the clock. At the three-minute mark, Caplener blocked a five-meter penalty shot. After two straight Rams goals, Jevdjovic trimmed Fordham's lead back to nine 13-4 with 15 seconds left to halftime.

In the third period, Fordham scored six straight goals for a 19-4 advantage as Iona failed to score in the quarter. Caplener stopped his second five-meter penalty shot at the 2:40 mark. Fordham outscored Iona 4-2 in the fourth quarter as DiSalle had two goals in the closing 2:20. 

Dr. Judge was the father of five Iona water polo players, including three Goal Club Hall of Famers: Greg '84 (HOF '03) and volunteer assistant coach, Matt '86 (HOF '09), Ray '87 (HOF '09), Mike '94 and Kevin '95. Chris '80 (Fordham HOF '96), his second oldest son, starred for Fordham, and also coached the team. His grandson, Patrick '18, is currently the team's assistant coach. Fordham leads the series 9-3.

UP NEXT

The Gaels host Long Island University in a Northeast Water Polo Conference match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23.