NEW ROCHELLE, NY — With 21 seconds left in double, sophomore Jonathan Hulbert’s point-blank, man-up goal gave the Iona men’s water polo team a comeback 12-11 victory over arch-rival Fordham University in a key CWPA North match. The back-and-forth battle at Messmore Aquatic Center featured five lead changes and nine ties.
After the two squads traded goals in the first overtime with sophomore Marc Stauble scoring for Iona, senior goalie Matt McCrudden, who had 16 saves in the win, stopped a Fordham 6-5 advantage with 1:32 left in the second overtime. When the Gaels failed to scored, the Rams (10-9 overall, 2-3 CWPA North) got the ball back, but key steal by McCrudden led to an Iona possession with 59 ticks left.
Fourteen seconds later after a head coach Brian Kelly timeout, sophomore Zach Roper, who led Iona (3-8 overall, 2-4 CWPA North) with five goals, drew a Ram ejection, then stole the ball from the Fordham goalie, and lofted a pass to Hulbert in front of the cage for the game-winning score.
Hulbert and freshman Andres Guerra scored two goals each, while senior Rafael Romero, junior Chris Ellis and Stauble scored one goal apiece. The Gaels recorded five assists with two coming from junior Matthew Rothman.
On defense, the Gaels drew eleven Fordham kickouts with three from Roper, and two each from Stauble and sophomore Pat Judge. Junior co-captain Hudson Grieve and Judge drew five-meter Ram penalties. Stauble made five of the Gaels’ eight steals. Iona had nine ejections, and Ellis was disqualified with three.
The Rams scored on their first possession 49 seconds into the match, but Roper’s first goal tied the game at one 26 seconds later. Fordham went back up 2-1 on its next possession, but Ellis tied the game at two with 4:40 left in the first period. Two consecutive Ram goals gave the home squad a 4-2 advantage going into the second quarter.
The Gaels dominated the second period with four unanswered goals – two from Roper, and one each from Guerra and Romero – to go up 6-4 with 50 seconds left to halftime. But the Rams struck 23 seconds later to narrow the Iona edge to 6-5 at intermission.
With 1:47 gone in the third period, Fordham tied the game at six, then went ahead 7-6 with 3:43 left. Hulbert tied the game at seven at the 1:19 mark, but Fordham retook the lead 8-7 on its next possession. With 22 ticks left in the third, Roper’s man-up lob tied the match at eight.
Just 1:45 into the final period of regulation, Roper struck again to put Iona up 9-8, but the hosts retied the game at nine 35 ticks later. With only 53 seconds to go, the Rams retook the lead 10-9, but Grieve drew a five-meter Fordham penalty. Although Ellis missed the penalty shot, Roper stole a Ram pass, and fed Guerra to force overtime with 17 seconds left.
Going into the first overtime, Kelly exhorted his starters saying, “Play at the highest level you ever have.” And that’s what the Gaels did for their third season win.
After the win, coach Kelly reflected back on the outcome; “This was a quality win versus a very good Fordham team. Fordham is playing at a high level, just completing a very successful California trip. We played really well as a a team, and this is a good springboard for us. We are becoming a team”
The Gaels will face Fordham at Hynes Pool on Wednesday, October 21, 7:30 p.m., to battle for the Judge Memorial Cup, which Iona won last year for the second straight season in the third annual contest for the prize. The Cup is named after Dr. Francis X. Judge, a water polo pioneer at Fordham, and the founder of the Hudson Valley Water Polo Club.
He was the father of five Iona water polo players, including three Goal Club Hall of Famers: Greg ’84 (HOF ’03), Matt ’86 (HOF ’09), Ray ’87 (HOF ’09), Mike ’94 and Kevin ’95. Chris ’80 (Fordham HOF ’96), his second oldest son, starred for Fordham, and also coached the team. Iona sophomore Patrick Judge is the grandson of Dr. Judge.