ANNAPOLIS, MD –- Culminating his standout Iona career with an eight-goal performance, senior Jake Lloyd led the Iona College men’s water polo team to a 13-12 win this morning over Washington & Jefferson in its third tournament game for an eleventh place finish at the three-day 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Championship hosted by the United States Naval Academy.
Leading all scorers in the match, Lloyd scored on eight of his 12 shots. Seniors Ian Thompson and Nicholas Joslyn scored two goals, and senior Rafael Romero added one. Senior goalie Mike Pufunt recorded 11 saves and one steal. On defense, Lloyd had four steals, and Thompson drew six ejections.
Although Washington & Jefferson scored first, Romero put Iona (7-21) on the board with 2:16 left in the first period, followed by Lloyd 35 seconds later for a 2-1 Gael lead. The Presidents tied the game at two with 50 seconds to go, but Thompson put Iona back on top 3-1 as the opening quarter ended.
Just 40 seconds into the second period, Joslyn gave the Gaels a two-goal lead 4-2, and Lloyd’s second goal on a 6-5 advantage put Iona up 5-3 with 4:11. Washington & Jefferson also scored a power-play goal, but Lloyd struck again with 3:32 left for a three-goal Gael lead 6-3. In the final three minutes of the second period, the Presidents hit two unanswered goals to trim the Iona lead to 6-5 at halftime.
In the third period, Lloyd outscored the Presidents offense 5-3. The Gaels leading season scorer lobbed in his fourth goal with 55 seconds gone, followed by his fifth goal on a Gael power play to put the Gaels up 8-5 at the 6:35 mark. Two straight Washington & Jefferson scores narrowed the Iona lead to 8-7 with 4:09 to go. But Lloyd hit three more scores, including a five-meter penalty shot, for an 11-8 Gael advantage going into the final quarter.
The Presidents scored only 17 seconds into the fourth, but Joslyn capitalized on a 6-5 advantage to put Iona ahead 12-9 just 25 ticks later. The Presidents trimmed the Iona lead back to two with 5:23 left in regulation. Although Thompson hit his second goal with 3:09 left, two straight Washington & Jefferson goals chopped the Iona edge to 13-12 with 41 ticks remaining, but the Gaels held on for the season-ending win.
Delighted that his eight seniors could celebrate their Iona careers with a final-game win, Iona head coach Brian Kelly complimented Washington & Jefferson for a “hard-fought” game.
“It was a hard-fought win,” Kelly said. “W&J has really been playing well lately. They have a lot of skilled players on offense, and they never quit. There were times where I thought we were going to put the game away, and they kept coming back.
“I’m happy for our seniors. It is an excellent senior class in and out of the pool.”