PRINCETON, NJ – Hoping for its third and fourth season wins, the Iona University men's water polo team came close, but dropped two non-conference matches, losing 17-16 to Mount Saint Mary's University and 16-13 to Bucknell University today at the Princeton Invitational hosted here this weekend by Princeton University.

Mount Saint Mary's 17 Iona 16

In a seesaw match featuring 12 ties and three lead changes, Iona fell 17-16 to Mount Saint Mary's in this morning's contest after tying or trailing the Mountaineers by a single goal the entire second half.

Junior co-captain Pavle Musikic led the Maroon and Gold (2-10 overall, 0-1 NEWPC) with seven goals on nine shots, while junior Ryan Tannus had four goals on six shots. Junior co-captain Brett Grady added two scores, and junior Daniel Raz, freshman Christian Couch and freshman Charlie Harbour had one goal apiece. In goal, junior co-captain PJ Bartzen had three saves on 17 Mount shots with 11 goals against in the first half. Junior Eric Caplener had seven saves on 14 Mount shots with five goals against in the second half.

The Gaels scored 16 goals on 36 shots and made ten assists with three each from Musikic and freshman Logan Hardel. On defense, Iona made three steals. The Gaels blocked three shots with two by junior Hugh Coyle. The Gaels drew 13 Mount kickouts with four by Musikic, including four five-meter penalties, while being ejected eight times, including one five-meter penalty.

With 36 ticks gone in the match, Musikic put the Gaels on the board with a five-meter penalty goal for a 1-0 Iona edge. Two straight Mountaineers goals gave the Mount a two-goal 2-0 advantage with 4:40 left in the opening period. On the Gaels' next trip down the pool, Tannus tied the match at two all with 4:05 to go. After Raz's five-meter penalty goal, the Mount answered for a three-all tie at the 2:27 mark. The squads traded goals, with Couch scoring for Iona, resulting in the quarter's fourth tie at four each.

Iona regained a one-goal 5-4 edge on Musikic's second score just 40 seconds into the second quarter. The Mount tied the match at five all with 6:30 left. Two five-meter penalty goals by Musikic followed by Harbour gave Iona a three-score 8-5 margin with 5:11 on the clock. With two straight scores, the Mount sliced the Iona edge back to one, 8-7, just 21 ticks later. Tannus' second goal put Iona back up two, 9-7, but the Mountaineers answered to get back within one, 9-8, with 2:28 to go. Following Musikic's fifth score, the Mount landed two straight goals to tie the game at ten-all with 1:29 remaining. Grady put Iona back up one, then the Mount answered, then Musikic's sixth goal with 23 seconds left resulted in a 12-11 Gaels halftime edge.

The Mount needed only 45 seconds into the second half for the game's eighth tie at 12 each, then went up one, 13-12, with 5:41 left. Musikic's seventh score on his fourth five-meter penalty try re-tied the game at 13 apiece until the Mount answered for a one-score 14-13 lead with 3:47 remaining. Tannus found the back of the net for the third time for a 14-all tie at the 2:40 mark. With 44 ticks left, the Mount retook a 15-14 advantage going into the final quarter.

Just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, Grady's second score on a man-up chance retied the match at 15 apiece. The Mountaineers regained a one-goal lead, 16-15, on their next possession. Tannus hit his fourth goal to knot the score at 16 apiece with 3:06 remaining, but the Mount struck with 28 ticks left for the 17-16 win as a last-second Iona shot fell short.

Bucknell 16 Iona 13

Falling behind by as much as five in the first half, Iona matched Bucknell in the second half with seven goals, but failed to overcome the Bisons' early lead, resulting in a 16-13 loss this afternoon.

Musikic, Raz and Tannus led the Maroon and Gold with three goals apiece, while Harbour scored twice. Grady and freshman Tate Wilson added one goal apiece. In goal, Caplener had nine saves on 28 Bison shots, including blocking a five-meter penalty shot, with 16 goals against and two steals.

The Gaels scored 13 goals on 30 shots and made six assists with two each from Coyle and Grady. On defense, Iona made six steals with two each from Coyle and Harbour. The Gaels blocked three shots. The Gaels drew seven Bison kickouts with three by Musikic, including two five-meter penalties, while being ejected 13 times, including three five-meter penalties. Coyle, Hardel and Musikic were disqualified. 

Bucknell struck twice for a 1-0 edge with 3:05 gone in the opening period. Grady got the Gaels on the board to get within one, 2-1, just 26 seconds later. Two straight Bison goals, including a five-meter penalty score, put Bucknell up three, 4-1, with 2:42 on the clock. Harbour and Wilson pulled Iona back within one, 4-3, with 32 seconds left, then the Bison answered for a 5-3 edge going into the second period.

Continuing a 4-0 run, Bucknell tacked on three more scores for a five-goal 8-3 advantage with 4:29 on the clock. Tannus ended the Iona offensive drought to slice the Bison edge to four, 8-4, just 20 seconds later. Bucknell took advantage of a man-up chance for a five-score 9-4 edge. In the closing 1:06, Tannus struck again followed by Musikic's five-meter penalty goal to trim the Bison lead back to three, 9-6, at halftime.

A Bison goal upped the Bucknell lead to four, 10-6, with 1:26 gone in the third period. Two straight Gaels scores by Musikic on a five-meter penalty and Tannus' hat trick score sliced the Bucknell margin to two, 10-8, with 5:16 to go. After Caplener stopped a five-meter penalty shot, the Bison went back up three, 11-8, at the 2:43 mark. Harbour's second goal got Iona back within two, 11-9, then Bucknell answered for a three-score 12-9 edge with 1:59 left. With 28 ticks left, Raz found the back of the net to trim the Bison edge to 12-10 as the Iona defense stalled a Bison man-up chance in the closing seconds.

Following a Bucknell 6-on-5 goal, Musikic converted a hat-trick score to slice the Bison edge to two, 13-11, with 6:05 left in regulation. The Bison answered with two consecutive five-meter penalty goals for a four-score 15-11 cushion with 5:09 to go. Raz's second score trimmed the Bucknell edge to three, 15-12, with 2:06 on the clock. Another Bison man-up score restored a four-goal 16-12 advantage with 1:27 remaining. With a minute left, Raz's hat-trick goal sliced the Bucknell lead to three, 16-13, as the Bison held on for the win.

UP NEXT

On Saturday, the Gaels travel to New London, CT, for two non-conference matches. At 9 a.m., Iona faces Wheaton College, and at noon, Iona takes on host Connecticut College.