LEXINGTON, VA, March 29 – The Iona women's water polo team wrapped up its regular season with two hard-fought Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference losses to nationally ranked opponents, Villanova University and Wagner College, today at the Virginia Military Institute.
#21 Villanova 13, Iona 12
Down by six goals late in the third quarter, Iona mounted a 6-1 rally the rest of the way but fell short by one goal, 13-12, in this morning's conference contest with No. 21 Villanova.
Senior captain Lola Trujillo led the Maroon and Gold with four goals on seven shots, while sophomore Grace Goldhammer had three scores on five shots. Senior Sadie Sallas, sophomore Ella Ferguson, redshirt sophomore Vanessa McNabb, sophomore Blaize Penso, and sophomore Olivia Weissman had one goal apiece.
The Gaels scored 12 goals on 34 shots with six assists, including three by Trujillo and two by Penso.
In goal, freshman MJ Metzdorf had nine saves on 26 Villanova shots, along with one steal, one assist, and 13 goals allowed. On defense, the Gaels made six steals, with four by Trujillo. Iona drew three Villanova kick-outs while being ejected seven times, including two five-meter penalties. Sophomore Fiona Rowe was disqualified with three ejections. Trujillo won all four swim-offs.
Iona scored one goal on three woman-up chances, while Villanova scored four goals on five opportunities. The Gaels committed 10 turnovers.
With 49 seconds gone in the match, Villanova took a 1-0 lead on a five-meter penalty shot. Trujillo tied the match at 1-1 with 5:02 left in the opening period. Another Wildcats five-meter penalty score gave Villanova a 3-1 edge going into the second period.
Continuing a 3-0 run, the Wildcats went up 4-1 on a woman-up chance with 3:03 gone in the second period. Goldhammer cut the lead to 4-2 on a woman-up goal, but Villanova answered with three straight scores to build a 7-2 advantage with 1:35 remaining. With two seconds left before halftime, Goldhammer's second goal made it 7-3.
Trujillo opened the second half with her second goal to cut the deficit to 7-4 just 45 seconds into the third period. Villanova responded with three straight goals to take a 10-4 lead with 4:34 to go. Sallas made it 10-5, but the Wildcats answered for an 11-5 cushion. Trujillo's hat-trick goal cut it to 11-6.
After another Villanova goal, back-to-back scores from Weissman and Goldhammer pulled Iona within four, 12-8, with 1:54 left. Villanova responded, but Ferguson scored with 42 seconds remaining to make it 13-9 entering the final period.
With 2:15 gone in the fourth quarter, Trujillo's fourth goal made it 13-10. As the defense held Villanova scoreless in the final period, Penso scored to cut the deficit to 13-11 with 2:30 remaining. McNabb brought Iona within one, 13-12, with 22 seconds left, but Villanova held on for the win.
#21 Wagner 19, Iona 12
Down by a single goal after a first half that featured five lead changes and eight ties, the Gaels were outscored 10-4 in the second half in a 19-12 loss to No. 21 (tie) Wagner.
Sallas led the Maroon and Gold with three goals on nine shots, while Trujillo and Weissman added two scores each. Sophomores Mikaela Arthur, Alyson DePalma, Goldhammer, McNabb, and Nicole Morrison each had one goal.
The Gaels scored 12 goals on 32 shots with 10 assists, including three by Morrison and two by Rowe.
In goal, Metzdorf recorded 10 saves on 28 Wagner shots, along with three steals, while allowing 19 goals. Defensively, the Gaels made 17 steals, with four by Goldhammer and three each by Sallas and Trujillo, who also blocked a shot. Iona drew 15 Wagner kickouts, including two five-meter penalties, with five by Goldhammer and three by Rowe, while being ejected eight times, including two five-meter penalties. Morrison was disqualified with three ejections. Trujillo won all four swim-offs.
Iona scored seven goals on 15 woman-up chances, while Wagner scored five goals on eight opportunities. The Gaels committed 11 turnovers.
Trujillo opened the scoring with a woman-up goal 1:23 into the match. Wagner tied it at one with 5:40 remaining. Sallas gave Iona a 2-1 lead at the 4:15 mark, but Wagner evened the score again. Sallas converted a five-meter penalty to make it 3-2 with 2:50 left.
Two unanswered Wagner goals gave the Seahawks a 4-3 lead at 1:38. Weissman tied the game at four with 30 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Morrison opened the second quarter with a woman-up goal to give Iona a 5-4 lead. Wagner answered with two straight goals before Trujillo tied it at six with 6:07 remaining. Weissman made it 7-6, but Wagner tied it again at seven with 4:28 left. Arthur gave Iona an 8-7 edge, but two late goals by Wagner resulted in a 9-8 halftime lead.
A Wagner woman-up goal early in the third quarter made it 10-8. Goldhammer cut it to 10-9, but two straight Wagner goals extended the lead to 12-9. Sallas made it 12-10 on a five-meter penalty, and McNabb later cut it to 13-11. Wagner responded with two counterattack goals to take a 15-11 lead with 1:47 remaining.
Continuing a 5-0 run into the fourth quarter, Wagner scored three more times to extend the lead to 18-11. DePalma ended the Iona scoring drought to make it 18-12 with 2:08 remaining, but Wagner added a final goal to secure the 19-12 win.
COACH THOUGHTS
While disappointed in not qualifying for the MAAC Championships, head coach Brian Kelly praised his team's effort against strong competition. "It was a really tough and frustrating season," Kelly said. "We played very tough and were competitive with everyone in the conference. "It's disappointing not to make championships when we were in close games against the top four seeds."
