NEW ROCHELLE, NY — In two close, hard-fought matches this afternoon against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s two first-place teams, the Iona women’s water polo team lost 9-6 to Wagner College and 10-7 to host Marist College. With the losses, the Gaels dropped to 10-14 overall and 6-4 in the MAAC.
#20 Wagner 9, Iona 6
Despite a strong defensive effort and a fourth-quarter, four-goal rally, the Gaels fell 9-6 to Wagner in this afternoon’s first match.
Sophomore Hannah Schultz led the Gaels with three goals, while senior Meghan Mahoney, senior Taylor Silva and junior Darby Nevins had one score each.
In goal, freshman Jordin Hale had seven saves and two steals, while facing 24 Wagner shots. On defense, Iona made six steals with two by Mahoney and two blocks. The Gaels drew nine Seahawk kickouts with four by Schultz, and were ejected six times. Iona scored on two of nine man-up opportunities, while Wagner made two of six.
Wagner struck first with 1:43 gone in the match, then hit two unanswered goals for a 3-0 lead going into the second quarter as Iona failed to score. The Seawolves added another goal with 1:31 gone, then Schultz put Iona on the board with a weak-post shot. Wagner struck again on its next possession, but Schultz skipped in a five-meter penalty shot, as Iona pulled with three 5-2. Neither team scored in the remaining 5:03 of the first half.
In the third period, no goals were scored until the 3:20 mark when Wagner upped its lead to 6-2, as Iona failed to capitalize on two man-up chances. Wagner tossed in a loose ball with :21 ticks left for a 7-2 advantage going into the final period.
The Gaels rallied with four goals, three consecutive, in the fourth period. With 1:02 gone, Nevins found the back of the net on senior Dana Andrea’s assist to pull Iona within four 7-3. Schultz missed a five-meter penalty shot with 5:54 on the clock. Wagner scored 14 seconds later, but Silva’s score continued the Gael rally. Schultz followed with her third goal to trim the Wagner edge to three 8-5 with 4:09 to go. After a Wagner timeout, Mahoney’s defense and offense pulled Iona within two. Her steal gave the Iona possession, which lead to a 6-5 advantage, then Mahoney scored at 2:31 mark with Wagner ahead 8-6. The Seawolves scored with 1:09 left, and junior Rebecca Koshy missed a five-meter penalty shot with time expired.
#23 Marist 10, Iona 7
Down by one with 3:50 left in the match, Iona could not overcome Marist’s three-goal rally and fell 10-7 in this afternoon’s second match.
Koshy led Iona with three goals, while Andrea, Silva, sophomore Kayla Allen and Schultz had one score each.
In goal, Hale had seven saves and two steals facing 29 Marist shots. On defense, Iona had four steals and one block by senior Sara Bortz. Iona drew eleven Marist kickouts, four by Schultz, while being ejected seven times. Iona scored on two of nine man-up chances, while Marist made one of six.
On their Senior Day, the Red Foxes struck first on five-meter penalty shot just 54 seconds into the match, then on a lob with 2:17 to go in the first period. Koshy answered for Iona to narrow the Marist lead to 2-1 going into the second quarter.
In the second period, both teams scored three goals apiece. Marist struck again after 35 seconds, but Andrea answered to pull Iona within one 3-2 with 7:02 left. Over the next two minutes, the Red Foxes scored two straight goals to expand their edge to 5-2 with 4:52 to go. But the Gaels answered with two of their own. On the Gaels possession, Silva capitalized on a man-up opportunity as Iona pulled back within two 5-3. Koshy also scored on a 6-5 advantage with 49 seconds left so Marist led by a single goal 5-4 at halftime.
With 2:38 gone in the third period, Marist hit a five-meter penalty shot, then Allen responded 1:15 later to get Iona back within one 6-5. With Iona’s fierce defense, Marist could not score on a two-man-up advantage a minute later. Nor could the Red Foxes get off a shot in the closing 20 seconds to expand their 6-5 edge going into the final quarter.
Marist stretched its lead back to two 7-5 with 2:44 gone in the fourth quarter, but Koshy’s lob with 3:50 left narrowed the score to 7-6. Marist tacked on three straight goals in the next two minutes to lead 10-6, and Schultz scored on a goalie ejection with 32 seconds left.
Notably frustrated the narrow losses, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed with his squad’s inability to pull off two upsets by committing “mental mistakes.”
“We were in both games and had chances to win both games,” Kelly said. “It was a frustrating day when you make mental mistakes at the most important times of the game.”
At home on next Sunday’s “Senior Day,” the Gaels will face Virginia Military Institute at 10:30 a.m., and Villanova University at 5:30 p.m.