SANTA CLARA, CA – Except for two first-quarter ties, the Iona University men's water polo team led the rest of the way in an 18-15 victory over the University of California, Merced, in the first of four matches this weekend at the Julian Fraser Tournament, hosted by Santa Clara University.

GAME SUMMARY

Junior co-captain Pavle Musikic led the Maroon and Gold (7-16 overall, 1-5 NEWPC) with five goals on 12 shots, while junior Ryan Tannus and freshman Tate Wilson scored three goals apiece. Junior Daniel Raz and sophomore Samson Williams each added two goals. Junior Hugh Coyle, junior co-captain Brett Grady and freshman Charlie Harbour contributed one goal each.

In goal, junior Eric Caplener recorded seven saves on 28 Merced shots while allowing 15 goals.

The Gaels scored 18 goals on 41 shots and recorded ten assists. Defensively, Iona collected ten steals and blocked five shots. The Gaels drew 11 kick-outs, including four by Musikic, who also drew two five-meter penalties. Iona was ejected ten times, including one five-meter penalty, and committed 15 turnovers. The Gaels converted five of ten man-up opportunities, while Merced scored three man-up goals on 11 chances. Grady won three of four swim-offs.

With just 15 seconds elapsed in the match, Musikic put Iona on the board for a 1-0 lead before Merced tied the game at one with 5:30 remaining in the opening period. Raz restored a one-goal Gaels lead, 2-1, but the Bobcats answered on their next opportunity to tie the match at two with 4:21 remaining. Consecutive goals by Harbour and Tannus gave Iona a 4-2 advantage with 1:59 left on the clock. The Bobcats pulled within one, 4-3, before Musikic and Tannus each scored their second goals to extend the Gaels' lead to three with 44 seconds remaining. Raz's buzzer-beater gave Iona a four-goal advantage, 7-3, heading into the second period.

Just 35 seconds into the second period, Coyle extended Iona's lead to five, 8-3. Four unanswered goals by the Bobcats, including a five-meter penalty goal and a man-up score, cut the Gaels' advantage to one, 8-7, with 1:42 remaining. Iona responded with consecutive goals from Tannus and Williams to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

After Coyle missed a five-meter penalty shot, the Bobcats capitalized on a man-up opportunity to pull within two, 10-8, with 5:40 remaining in the third period. Two consecutive goals by Wilson extended Iona's lead back to four, 12-8, at the 4:18 mark. Grady and Wilson continued the Gaels' 4-0 run, building a six-goal advantage, 14-8, with 2:30 remaining. Merced answered with three straight goals to cut Iona's lead to three, 14-11, with 1:10 left. Musikic's third goal restored a four-goal advantage, 15-11, but the Bobcats beat the buzzer to trim the Gaels' lead to three, 15-12, heading into the final period.

Just 26 seconds into the fourth period, Merced pulled within two, 15-13, before Musikic's fourth goal restored a three-goal Iona advantage, 16-13, with 4:32 remaining. After another Bobcats goal, Musikic struck again to give the Gaels a 17-14 lead at the 1:33 mark. Just ten seconds later, Merced cut the deficit to two, 17-15, but Williams sealed the 18-15 victory with a goal in the final 48 seconds.

COACH THOUGHTS

While pleased with his squad's tournament-opening win, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed the Gaels couldn't put the game away sooner because of unforced turnovers and costly exclusions.

"It was a good start to our trip," Kelly said. "We had chances to put the game away, but we had some unforced turnovers that really hurt us. Every time we built a lead, we turned it over or took a bad exclusion that let Merced back in.

"Eric made some really big saves down the stretch to seal the game. Tate Wilson had a monster game for us."

UP NEXT

On Saturday, the Gaels take on eighth-ranked Pacific University at 2:40 p.m. ET and Fresno Pacific University at 8 p.m. ET.