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Iona University Athletics

Kaya Hart
Stockton Photo Inc.

Women's Water Polo Garrett Murray - Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Iona Water Polo Advances to Second Round of 2024 MAAC Championships

Box Score POUGHKEEPSIE, NY –  Leading by a single goal at halftime, the second-seeded Red Division Iona women's water polo team outscored the third-Red-seeded LaSalle University 6-4 in the second half for a 12-9 victory this afternoon in the Opening Round of the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Championship hosted by Marist College. With the win, the Gaels advance to the semifinal round against number-one Red Division Marist College at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

Seniors Mia Tovar & Kaya Hart led the Maroon and Gold (14-15 overall) with three goals each, while senior Amelia Gonzalez (four shots) and sophomore Sadie Sallas (five shots) each scored twice.  Sophomore Lola Trujillo and freshman Bella Morquecho had one goal each. The Gaels scored 12 goals on 31 shots on eight assists with two each by Tovar, Gonzalez and Trujillo, who also won all four swim-offs.

In goal, senior Lilly Morris had ten saves on 24 Explorers shots, made three steals and had nine goals against. On defense, the Gaels made seven steals with two by sophomore Isabella Adams. Iona drew Explorers ten kick-outs with three by Tovar, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected eight times. Gonzalez blocked one shot. The Gaels turned the ball over 12 times. Iona scored on four of ten woman-up chances, while LaSalle scored four goals on eight woman-up chances.

With 1:45 gone in the match, Gonzalez took advantage of a 6-on-5 chance to give Iona a 1-0 edge. LaSalle knotted the score at once each, but Trujillo answered to put the Gaels back on top 2-1 with 4:39 left in the opening period. With just 35 ticks left, the Explorers re-tied the score at two each going into the second quarter.

Just as another power-play chance ran out, Sallas buried her first goal in the back of the net for a one-goal 3-2 Iona advantage with 2:09 expired in the second period. The Explorers tipped in a loose ball for a three-all tie with 4:15 remaining. Morquecho's back-hand shot restored a one-goal edge with 3:22 to go, but LaSalle knotted the game for the fourth time at four-all on its next trip down the pool. On Iona's next chance, Tovar put the Gaels back up one 5-4 with 2:41 on the clock. Hart's woman-up goal upped the Iona edge to two 6-4 with 1:42 remaining.  

But the Explorers pulled back with one with 12 seconds left to trim the Gaels halftime lead to one 6-5. Gonzalez hit her second goal on a 6-5 opportunity to restore a two-goal 7-5 Iona cushion with 2:30 gone in the second half. After Sallas missed a five-meter penalty shot, LaSalle's power-play goal cut the Iona lead back to one 7-6 with 3:35 to go. Only 17 seconds later, Tovar's second goal put the Gaels back up two 8-6. Hart's cross-cage goal followed by Tovar's lob score resulted in a four-goal 10-6 Iona margin with 34 seconds left in the third period. With ten ticks left, LaSalle sliced the Iona lead back to three 10-7 going into the final period.

Hart needed only 25 seconds into the fourth quarter to re-up the Gaels lead to four 11-7. After a power-play score got LaSalle within three at 11-8, Sallas' second score gave Iona another four-goal lead 12-8 with 2:59 left in regulation.  Despite an errant Explorers shot floating into the goal with 1:05 to go, the now fourth-seeded Gaels held on for the win to advance to the semifinals tomorrow against the number-two seed host Marist College at 4 p.m.

Iona head coach Brian Kelly was pleased with his squad's execution of a "really good" game plan, especially his seniors. "Our seniors really stepped up and won the game for us today," Kelly said. "Kaya Hart and Mia Tovar shot really well. Amelia [Gonzalez] had a couple of good goals for us and played amazing defense. And Lilly shut the door in goal, especially in the second half. "We had a really good game plan to set up Kaya for success. She hit her shots all week, and she hit them today."

In this MAAC Championship, Kelly will face two of his former assistant coaches on consecutive days – LaSalle head coach Jamie Wolff and Marist head coach Chris Vidale.

Be sure to keep up with all of the action and the latest news surrounding Iona Athletics by following us on social media:
IonaGaels: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (Email Updates)
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Players Mentioned

Isabella Adams

#9 Isabella Adams

UT
5' 8"
Sophomore
Amelia Gonzalez

#7 Amelia Gonzalez

UT/CD
5' 4"
Senior
Kaya Hart

#24 Kaya Hart

UT
5' 8"
Senior
Lilly Morris

#1 Lilly Morris

G
6' 1"
Senior
Sadie Sallas

#20 Sadie Sallas

C
6' 3"
Sophomore
Mia Tovar

#4 Mia Tovar

UT
5' 6"
Graduate Student
Lola Trujillo

#18 Lola Trujillo

UT
5' 9"
Sophomore
Bella Morquecho

#23 Bella Morquecho

C
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Isabella Adams

#9 Isabella Adams

5' 8"
Sophomore
UT
Amelia Gonzalez

#7 Amelia Gonzalez

5' 4"
Senior
UT/CD
Kaya Hart

#24 Kaya Hart

5' 8"
Senior
UT
Lilly Morris

#1 Lilly Morris

6' 1"
Senior
G
Sadie Sallas

#20 Sadie Sallas

6' 3"
Sophomore
C
Mia Tovar

#4 Mia Tovar

5' 6"
Graduate Student
UT
Lola Trujillo

#18 Lola Trujillo

5' 9"
Sophomore
UT
Bella Morquecho

#23 Bella Morquecho

5' 10"
Freshman
C