VILLANOVA, PA- The Iona College women’s water polo competed in two conference contests Saturday afternoon. The Gaels earned a 9-6 win over Siena, before a heartbreaking 10-9 defeat vs. Marist in sudden death overtime.
Junior Rebecca Mathews led the team with four goals vs. Siena in the opener. Freshman Paige Neary recorded three tallies and drew one kickout. Registering a goal each were junior Dana Andrea (with two kickouts drawn) and freshman Hannah Schultz (one KD). Senior Monica Stiles also drew a kickout. Between the pipes, junior goalie Dana Delucchi earned the win with ten saves, covering the net all four periods.
In the second game of the day, the Gaels scored their first goals of the contest in the second period and trailed by three at the half. After four quarters, the score was knotted at seven, sending the game into overtime. Both squads continued thier back and forth action, tallying two goals each over the first two extra frames. With the game still tied after the two overtimes, Marist scored the game winner in the sudden death third OT.
Conquering the back of the net three times for the Gaels was Neary, who also drew one kickout. Senior Jordan Carmody and Schultz scored two goals each, while Mathews had one. On defense, junior Meghan Mahoney drew one kickout. Delucchi had fifteen saves in the loss.
The team returns to the Hynes Center Saturday (Apr. 11) afternoon when it hosts St. Francis Brooklyn and VMI.