STATEN ISLAND, NY - Down just one goal at the end of the first quarter, the Iona women's water polo team fell 16-10 to 21st-ranked Wagner College here in a non-conference match this evening.
GAME SUMMARY
Sophomore
Olivia Weissman led the Maroon and Gold (3-8 overall) with four goals on x shots, while senior
Sadie Sallas scored twice on x shots. Senior captain
Lola Trujillo, sophomore
Grace Goldhammer, redshirt sophomore
Vanessa McNabb, and sophomore
Nicole Morrison had one goal apiece.
The Gaels scored ten goals on 31 shots with seven assists.
In goal, freshman MJ Metzdorf had seven saves on 25 Wagner shots, one steal, one assist, and 16 goals against.
On defense, the Gaels made nine steals with two each by Morrison, Weissman, Trujillo, and Sallas. Iona drew 16 Wagner kickouts, with five by Sallas, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected eleven times with two five-meter penalties. McNabb was disqualified with three ejections. Trujillo won three of four swim-offs and blocked a shot.
Iona scored one goal on eleven woman-up chances. The Gaels turned the ball over 16 times.
Wagner opened the match with two straight scores for a 2-0 edge with 6:33 left in the first period. Morrison got the Gaels on the board on a woman-up score with 5:10 left to cut the home lead to one, 2-1. The Seahawks answered with two consecutive scores for a three-goal edge, 4-1, with 3:10 remaining. Sallas got Iona back within two, 4-2, on the Gaels' next trip down the pool, followed by Weissman as the Gaels narrowed the hosts' edge to one, 4-3, with 2:13 left.
Neither squad scored in the second period until Goldhammer's woman-up lob got the Gaels within two, 6-4, with 4:45 to go. After a Wagner goal, McNabb answered to pull Iona back within two, 7-5. The Seahawks capitalized on a 6-5 advantage to restore a three-goal, 8-5 edge. Two unanswered Wagner scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, gave the hosts a four-goal, 10-6 halftime cushion.
With 1:25 gone in the third period, Wagner went up five, 11-6. Weissman's second score got Iona back within four, 11-7, at the 5:31 mark. The Seahawks struck again, but so did Weissman to slice the Wagner edge back to four, 12-8. Wagner upped its advantage to five, 13-8, with 1:08 left.
At the 6:17 mark, Weissman's fourth goal on a woman-up chance got Iona within four, 13-9, but Wagner scored twice, including a five-meter penalty shot, for a six-goal, 15-9 lead with 5:18 on the clock. Sallas buried a five-meter penalty try to slice the home edge to five, 15-10, with 2:24 on the clock. With 33 seconds left, Wagner sealed the 16-10 home win.
UP NEXT
On Friday, the Gaels host Connecticut College in a non-conference match at 6 p.m. at Hynes Pool. On Saturday, Iona travels to Marist University to face the Red Foxes at 10 a.m. and Salem University at 2 p.m., both non-conference games.
