PRINCETON, NJ – Despite valiant efforts on both ends of the pool against two nationally ranked West Coast teams, the Iona men's water polo team fell 16-6 to number-19 ranked Santa Clara University (CA) and 23-1 to number-11 ranked University of California San Diego on first day of the 2024 Princeton Invitational hosted this weekend by Princeton University at DeNuzio Pool.
#19 Santa Clara 16 Iona 6
After failing to score in the opening period, Iona allowed seven straight Santa Clara scores which resulted in a 16-6 loss in this afternoon's first match. Freshman Pavle Musikic led the Maroon and Gold (1-4 overall) with two goals on nine shots. Graduate tri-captain Mohamed Refaat, graduate tri-captain Trippe Bauman, graduate student James DiSalle and senior tri-captain Luksa Vlasic scored one goal apiece.
The Gaels scored six goals on 35 shots on four assists. In goal, junior Aleksandar Slavkovic had 11 saves on Broncos 28 shots, made five steals and had 16 goals against. Sophomore Orlando Hernandez faced one Santa Clara shot in the opening minutes. On defense, Vlasic blocked two Santa Clara shots. The Gaels made ten steals with two each by Refaat and Bauman. Iona drew eight Broncos kick-outs with five by Musikic with three five-meter penalties, while being ejected 12 times with one five-meter penalty. Junior Rastko Jevdjovic and Musikic were disqualified. Iona did not score on four man-up chances, while Santa Clara had one goal on seven opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over nine times. Iona won two of four swim offs.
With 43 seconds gone in the opening period, the Broncos struck first, then scored on their next two possessions for 3-0 lead with 5:18 left. Hitting a five-meter penalty goal, Santa Clara went up four 4-0 with 3:43 on the clock. In the closing 2:22, the Broncos tacked on three straight scores to go up seven 7-0 going into the second period. Iona failed to score in the first period.
In the second period, Iona outscored Santa Clara 3-2. Refaat finally got the Gaels on the board with 1:26 gone. Following another Broncos score, Bauman sliced the Santa Clara edge six 8-2. Musikic found the back of the net, after missing a five-meter penalty shot, to pull the Gaels within five 8-3 with 5:14 left. Santa Clara tacked on another score with 2:49 remaining for a 9-3 halftime.
Following two straight Santa Clara scores, Bauman missed a five-meter penalty shot, but Vlasic ended the Iona offensive drought to chop the Broncos edge back to seven 11-4 with 2:32 left in the third period. After another Santa Clara goal, Musikic's second score 1:47 left trimmed the Broncos lead to seven 12-5 going into the final period. With three consecutive goals, Santa Clara went up ten 15-5, but DiSalle answered with 3:48 remaining to cut the Broncos advantage to nine 15-6. Santa Clara scored with 1:31 left to seal its 16-6 win.
#11 UC San Diego 23 Iona 1
Despite tying number-eleven ranked UC San Diego midway through the first quarter, Iona did not manage another goal for the rest of the match. Refaat led the Maroon and Gold with one goal on four shots. The Gaels scored one goal on 26 shots on one assist by Vlasic.
In goal, Slavkovic had ten saves on 26 Tritons shots, made two steals and had 16 goals against. In the fourth quarter, freshman Eric Caplener made one save on eight Tritons shots and had seven goals against. On defense, the Gaels blocked three UC San Diego shots with two by sophomore Matthew Mischlich. The Gaels made six steals with two by Vlasic. Iona drew 11 Tritons kick-outs with two by junior Coby Scanlon, Jevdjovic and Musikic, while being ejected 14 times with five five-meter penalties. Musikic was disqualified in the second period.
The Gaels turned the ball over 11 times. Iona won two of four swim offs. The Tritons needed just 1:43 into the first period to get on the board first on a man-up goal, but Refaat did the same to knot the game at one all with 4:29 left. With three unanswered scores, UC San Diego took a three-goal edge 4-1 with 1:05 remaining.
A five-meter penalty goal with 34 ticks into the second period upped the Triton edge to five 6-1. Continuing a six-goal run, UC San Diego tacked on two more scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, to go up six 7-1 with 3:44 on the clock. Two more unanswered goals in the closing 1:14, including a two-second buzzer beater, gave the Tritons a 9-1 halftime lead. The Gaels failed to score in the second quarter.
With seven straight goals, UC San Diego mounted a 16-1 advantage in the third quarter, as the Gaels failed to find the back of the net. In the final quarter, the Tritons tacked on seven more goals, including two five-meter penalty scores, as the Gaels did not score for the third consecutive quarter.
UP NEXT
On Saturday, the Gaels take on the United States Naval Academy at 3:30 p.m.
