POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - After a hard-fought single-score Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win over Mount St. Mary's (12-11) this afternoon, the Iona University women's water polo team fell 13-9 to host Marist to close out the regular season this evening. The Gaels finished the MAAC campaign with a 6-5 league mark, good for second place in the Blue Division and a berth in the MAAC Championship in two weeks.
 

IONA 12, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 11

Breaking the match's fourth tie with 6:02 gone in the third quarter, Iona led the rest of the way for a single-goal 12-11 conference win over Mount St. Mary's in today's first game.

IONA / TEAM PERFORMANCES

Sophomore Sadie Sallas led the Maroon & Gold (13-15, 6-5 MAAC) with four goals on six shots, while graduate student Mia Tovar (six shots) and junior Lola Trujillo (six shots) both scored three goals each. Sophomore Bella Adams and freshman Maleah Penman had one goal apiece.
 
The Gaels scored 12 goals on 23 shots on ten assists with three by senior Amelia Gonzalez and two by Tovar. Trujillo won all four swim offs.
 
In goal, senior Lilly Morris had ten saves on 26 Mountaineers shots, made one steal and had 11 goals against.
 
On defense, the Gaels made eight steals with two each by graduate student Lily Graham and junior Addison Collins. Iona drew five Mount kickouts with one five-meter penalty, while being ejected eight times, including a five-meter penalty. Senior Kaya Hart blocked one shot.
 
The Gaels turned the ball over 19 times. Iona scored on two of five woman-up chances, while the Mount scored four goals on eight woman-up chances.

THE RUNDOWN

After winning the opening swim off, Trujillo needed only 31 seconds to put Iona on the board first 1, but Mount St. Mary's answered 21 ticks later to tie the match at one apiece. Sallas took advantage of the game's first power play for a one-goal 2-1 edge with 2:12 gone. On their next chance, the Mountaineers reknotted the match at two each, then Sallas scored her second goal on a five-meter penalty shot to restore a one-goal Iona lead 3-2 with 5:03 left. Two straight Tovar goals sparked a 3-0 Iona run for a three-score 5-2 advantage with 2:58 remaining in the first period. With 48 seconds remaining, Mount St. Mary's narrowed the Iona cushion back to two 5-3 going into the second quarter.
 
With 2:35 gone in the second period, a Mountaineers woman-up goal cut the Gaels lead to one 5-4. The Mount ended the first half with another power-play goal with three ticks left, which resulted in a five-all halftime score. The Gaels failed to score in the second quarter.
 
Just 35 seconds into the third period, Trujillo's second score ended the Gaels offensive drought for a one-goal Iona 6-5 edge. The Mount evened the score at six all with 6:02 remaining. Iona retook a one-goal lead on Sallas' third score at the 3:53 mark. Forty-nine ticks later, Penman followed on the Gaels next possession to go up two 8-6. After a Mount St. Mary's goal, Trujillo tacked on her third score as Iona went back up two 9-7 going into the final period.
 
In just 25 seconds, Tovar landed her third score in the back of the net, then the Mount answered to cut the Iona lead back to two 10-8 with 7:14 on the clock. Adam's goal with 5:50 remaining restored a three-goal 11-8 advantage. With two straight scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, the Mountaineers got back with two 11-9 with 3:45 left. Only 15 seconds later, Sallas hit her fourth goal for another two-goal 12-10 edge. Following a Mount goalie-out score with 13 ticks left, Iona stalled and held on for the 12-11 win.                                                                                                                                                   

MARIST 13, IONA 9

Down only one goal 6-5 at halftime, Iona was outscored 7-4 in the second half and fell to 13-9 Marist this evening, after yesterday's disappointing single-goal loss.

IONA / TEAM PERFORMANCES

Tovar, Hart and Sallas led the Maroon and Gold with three goals each. Graduate student Lily Graham, senior Amelia Gonzalez and freshman Kaitlyn Williams scored one goal apiece.
 
The Gaels scored nine goals 34 shots on seven assists with two by Hart. Trujillo won three of four swim offs.
 
In goal in the first three quarters, Morris had three saves on 13 Red Foxes shots, made one steal and had seven goals against. In the third and fourth quarters, freshman Zasha Soler had no saves on eight Marist shots, made one steal and had six goals against.
 
On defense, the Gaels made six steals with two each by Trujillo and Adams. Iona drew nine Marist kickouts with two by Sallas, who also blocked a shot, while being ejected eight times, including two five-meter penalties.

THE RUNDOWN

The Gaels turned the ball over eleven times. Iona scored on four of nine woman-up chances, while Marist scored two goals on eight woman-up chances.
 
With 31 seconds gone in match, the hosts got on the board first, but Tovar's lob tied the game at one each with 5:37 remaining in the opening period. Two straight Red Foxes scores gave Marist a two-goal 3-1 advantage going into the second period.
 
After a third consecutive Marist score, Gonzalez scored on a power-play chance to pull Iona within two 4-2 with 1:42 gone in the second quarter. After a Marist score, the Gaels answered with two straight goals from Sallas and Williams to slice the home edge to one 5-4 with 3:09 on the clock. Continuing a 3-0 run, Hart's woman-up goal knotted the game at five each with 1:10 to go. With two ticks left, Marist's power-play score put the Red Foxes back up by one 6-5 at intermission.
 
With two more unanswered scores, including a 6-on-5 goal, Marist regained a three-goal 8-5 edge with 5:52 remaining in the third period. With Soler in goal, Marist continued a 4-0 run for a four-goal 9-5 advantage with 3:23 left. Sallas' second goal pulled Iona back within three 9-6 with 1:28 to go.
 
After another Red Foxes score, Tovar's second score pulled the Gaels back within three 10-7 with 4:26 left in regulation. Hart answered another home goal with her second score to trim the Marist lead to three 11-8 with 2:05 on the clock. Despite Graham's closing-minute score, two straight Marist goals sealed the 13-9 for the first-place Blue Division Red Foxes.

REACTIONS

Despite the weekend's two losses to rival Marist, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was pleased with his "very coachable" team's performance and anticipates a "major step" in the upcoming MAAC Championships.
 
"I'm proud of the team's efforts this weekend," Kelly said. "It's never easy to play four games in one weekend. But it's even more difficult when it's against your rivals.
 
"This is a very coachable team, and we are getting better literally every single day. We're looking forward to taking a major step in two weeks at championships."

UP NEXT

The No. 2 seeded Blue Division Gaels will face No. 3 seeded Red Division La Salle at 4 p.m., Friday, April 26, in the opening round of the 2024 MAAC Championships hosted by Marist.

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