VILLANOVA, PA — The Iona College women’s water polo team snapped a four-game skid with a pair of victories Saturday on the first day of competition at the Villanova Invitational. With 12 Gaels scoring and the entire squad playing, the Gaels picked up a 17-7 win over Gannon in the opener.
Relying on persistent offense and clutch defense from an impressive freshmen class, the Gaels pulled out a 15-14 come-from-behind win this afternoon over George Washington in the second game; a match that featured five ties and three lead changes at the Villanova Invitational.
Against Gannon, freshman Kayla Allen led Iona with three goals, while junior Meghan Mahoney, freshmen Hannah Schultz and Brittany Toro hit two apiece. Scoring one goal each were senior Monica Stiles, senior Jordan Carmody, junior Taylor Silva, junior Sara Bortz, sophomore Darby Nevins, sophomore Rebecca Koshy, freshman Devika Joshi, and freshman Paige Neary.
In the first half, junior goalie Dana Delucchi recorded two saves, and in the second half freshman Britten Vilander had six saves.
On defense the Gaels made 12 saves with two each by Koshy and Schultz, and drew 12 kickouts with two each from Neary, Nevins, Mahoney and junior Dana Andrea.
Mahoney’s five-meter penalty shot put Iona on the board first, followed by two unanswered goals from Allen to give the Gaels a 3-0 lead with 2:10 left in the opening period. Nevins scored at the 30-second mark to put Iona up 4-0 as the first quarter ended.
Gannon scored with 1:36 gone in the second, but Iona responded with five consecutive goals from Silva, Allen, Joshi and two straight from Schultz for a 9-1 lead with 1:12 left in the period. With 43 seconds left, Gannon scored, but Carmody scored to give the Gaels a 10-2 halftime lead.
In the third period, Iona outscored Gannon 5-2 with two goals from Toro, and one each from Neary, Koshy and Bortz for a 15-4 advantage going into the final quarter. Gannon hit three goals in the fourth period, but Iona goals from Schultz and Stiles closed out the victory.
Against George Washington, Schultz led the Gaels with five goals, while Silva, Rebecca Mathews, Andrea, and Mahoney scored two each. Neary and Carmody added one goal each. Andrea had four assists and Silva had three.
On the defensive end, Vilander recorded ten saves. The Gaels made nine steals, including three by Andrea, and forced eight ejections, including three by Mahoney.
Just 25 seconds into the match, Matthews put Iona on the board, then followed with another goal 2:22 later to give the Gaels a 2-0 lead with 5:13 left in the first period. The Colonials scored a minute later, but Andrea’s goal at 3:33 put the Gaels up 3-1. George Washington narrowed the gap to 3-2 with 2:18 to go, but Neary upped the Iona lead to 4-2 15 ticks later.
Thirty-five seconds into the second period, George Washington got back within one 4-3, then tied the score at four with 5:38 to halftime. But two unanswered Gael goals from Schultz and Silva put Iona back up 6-4 a minute later. The Colonials scored on a 6-5 advantage, then Neary and Silva struck in the closing three minutes of the first half to give Iona an 8-5 edge at intermission.
George Washington hit three unanswered the first four minutes of the third period to tie the match at eight with 4:46 left, when Iona head coach Brian Kelly called timeout. But the Colonials took the lead 9-8 on their next possession, then followed with a fifth answered goal to go up 10-8 with 3:10 to go in the third. The Gaels rallied, however, with three straight scores to tie, and take the lead 11-10 going into the final quarter.
Mahoney struck again 37 seconds into the fourth period to give Iona a 12-10 lead, then the Colonials hit three straight in the next five minutes to tie and retake the lead 13-12 with 3:45 to go. Once again, the Gaels rallied with goals from Andrea and Schultz to go back on top 15-14 with just 1:27 on the clock. In the closing seconds, after clutch steal by junior Sarah Bortz, four freshmen and three upperclassmen stalled until the final buzzer.
On Sunday, the Gaels take on Mercyhurst University at 10:30 am, Washington & Jefferson at 1:00 pm, then head north to Marist College for a 6:00 pm match against Hartwick College.