[NEW ROCHELLE] After notching its first Northeast Water Polo Conference season win, 12-5 over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Iona University men's water polo team fell 18-7 to Harvard University in two conference matches today at Hynes Pool.

GAME SUMMARY

Iona 12 MIT 5

Leading the entire contest except for two first-period ties, Iona coasted to its first NEWPC season win, 12-5 over MIT, which forfeited in the final period of this morning's first match.

Junior co-captain Pavle Musikic (eight shots) and freshman Christian Couch (four shots) led the Maroon and Gold (5-11 overall, 1-3 NEWPC) with three goals each, while junior Ryan Tannus scored twice. Juniors Hugh Coyle and Brett Grady added one score each.

In goal, junior co-captain P.J. Bartzen had ten saves on 14 Engineers shots, three steals and four goals against in the first and third quarters. Junior Eric Caplener had five saves on seven Engineers shots, one steal and one goal against in the second and fourth quarters.

The Gaels scored 12 goals on 30 shots and made ten assists, with four from Coyle. On defense, Iona made 12 steals, with two each by Grady and freshman Charlie Harbour. The Gaels drew three kickouts, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected seven times, including one five-meter penalty. Iona committed 13 turnovers. Iona scored one man-up goal on three chances, while MIT scored two man-up goals on two chances. Grady won all four swim-offs.

With 1:11 gone in the match, Couch got on the board first, but MIT answered 23 ticks later for a one-all tie. Coyle put the Gaels back up one, 2-1, before the Engineers re-knotted the score at two with 4:29 on the clock. Two straight scores from Couch and Tannus gave Iona a two-goal edge, 4-2, with 2:06 left in the opening period.

Continuing a 5-0 run from the first quarter, Musikic, Robison and Couch increased the home advantage to five, 7-2, with 4:46 left in the second period. The Engineers sliced the Gaels' lead to four, 7-3, until Musikic's two consecutive goals resulted in a 9-3 Iona lead with 3:01 remaining. With 1:21 on the clock, Tannus struck for a seven-goal, 10-3 halftime cushion.

Continuing the Iona rally, Grady and Robison upped the Iona margin to nine, 12-3, with 5:04 left in the third period. Two straight MIT scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, cut the home lead back to seven, 12-5, with 1:12 left. Neither squad scored in the final period as MIT forfeited with 2:53 remaining in regulation.

Harvard 18 Iona 7

Down only two goals, 7-5, at halftime, Iona managed just two second-half scores to Harvard's 11 and fell 18-7 in this afternoon's NEWPC match.

Junior Daniel Raz (five shots) and Robison (four shots) led the Maroon and Gold with two goals each, while Musikic, Coyle and freshman Logan Hardel added one score each.

In goal, junior co-captain P.J. Bartzen had five saves on 15 Crimson shots, one steal and eight goals against in the first and third quarters. Junior Eric Caplener had three saves on 11 Harvard shots, including a five-meter penalty block, three steals and eight goals against in the second and fourth quarters. Freshman Kyle Chin Lee made no saves on three Harvard shots with two goals against in the final minutes.

The Gaels scored seven goals on 27 shots and made four assists. On defense, Iona made seven steals. The Gaels drew eight kick-outs, with three each from Musikic and Raz, including four five-meter penalties, while being ejected five times, including six five-meter penalties. Iona committed 11 turnovers. Iona scored one man-up goal on eight chances, while Harvard scored three man-up goals on five chances. Grady won three of four swim-offs.

Coyle opened the match with a five-meter penalty goal, but Harvard answered on its first trip down the pool for a one-all tie with 54 seconds gone. The Crimson took a one-goal, 2-1 lead on a man-up chance, then the Gaels did the same to retie the score at two with 5:30 to go. Two straight Harvard scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, put the visitors up two, 4-2, at the 3:22 mark. Musikic's five-meter penalty score sliced Harvard's lead back to one, 4-3, with 2:18 on the clock. With 23 ticks left, Robison struck again to knot the game at four going into the second period.

Three unanswered Crimson scores gave the visitors a three-goal, 7-4 advantage with 3:26 left in the second quarter. Hardel sliced the Harvard halftime lead back to two, 7-5, with 1:50 to go.

Harvard needed just 45 seconds into the third period to go back up three, 8-5. A Crimson five-meter penalty goal increased the lead to four, 9-5, with 6:10 to go. After another Harvard goal, Raz pulled Iona back within four, 10-6, at the 3:07 mark. Raz struck again just 59 seconds later to trim the Crimson edge to three, 10-7, with 2:08 left. Just 1:03 later, Harvard regained a four-score edge, 11-7, going into the final period.

Two straight Harvard goals in the opening 42 seconds of the final period put the Crimson up six, 13-7. Continuing an 8-0 run, the visitors built an 11-score, 18-7 lead, including two five-meter penalty goals, with 4:18 remaining. Musikic missed a five-meter penalty shot with three minutes left as Iona failed to score in the final period.

UP NEXT

Next Saturday, Iona hosts Princeton University in a NEWPC match at 3 p.m. and Connecticut College in a non-conference contest at 5 p.m.