NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona men’s water polo team competed in a triple-header at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday. The three-match competition saw the Gaels (5-5) beat Penn State Behrend 19-4, fall to Cal Lutheran 13-9, and defeat the host Connecticut College Camels 16-12.
Game 1:
The Maroon and Gold defeated Penn State Behrend 19-4 in the morning contest. 14 different Gaels tallied at least one goal in the contest in which never trailed the Behrend Lions.
Matthew Rothman opened up the scoring 1:08 into the match. The Gaels kept it rolling, opening up a quick 7-0 lead with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter. Roche Pretorius’s goal with eight seconds remaining gave the Gaels an 8-1 lead after the opening period.
The Behrend Lions put up two quick goals to open the second, before the Maroon and Gold fired back with goals from Philip Wachowski and Quinn Lloyd. Penn State Behrend tacked on a goal with 1:15, before Jonathan Hulbert found the back of the net with just ticks on the clock, giving Iona an 11-4 lead at half.
Iona cruised the rest of the way, scoring eight goals and holding the Behrend Lions scoreless in the second half.
Jorge Andres Torres started in net, making five saves, and allowing one goal.
Michael Banks relieved Torres, stopping 11 shots, and allowing three goals.
Wachowski led all scorers with three goals. Jason Hill tallied one goal and added four assists.
Dan Fleck and Kade Ramirez each totaled two goals and one steal.
Rothman, Lloyd, Hulbert, Bailey Lyons, Spencer Anthony, Marc Stauble, Cullen Seipp, Hudson Grieve, Roche Pretorius, and Zach Roper, each tallied one goal
Game 2:
In the second contest of the day, the Gaels were defeated by Cal Lutheran 13-9.
Hudson Grieve opened the scoring 49 seconds into the contest. After the Kingsmen tied it up 28 seconds later, a pair of goals by Zach Roper and Andres Guerra gave the Gaels a 3-1 lead. The Maroon and Gold led 4-3 after the conclusion of the first quarter.
Iona controlled play for the opening minutes of the second quarter, receving goals from Marc Stauble and Jason Hill. Two late goals by the Kingsmen, including one with nine seconds remaining knotted the score at 6-6 going into halftime.
The Kingsmen defense held the Gaels scoreless in the third quarter and tacked on three goals giving Cal Lutheran a 10-6 lead.
With 7:19 remaining, Strauble put the Maroon and Gold back on the scoresheet, cutting the deficit to three. After two Cal Lutheran goals, Roper scored to cut the lead to 12-8. The teams traded goals over the final three minutes, giving Cal Lutheran the 13-9 victory.
Roper led the Gaels with three goals and added three kickouts drawn. Marc Stauble posted two goals and two steals.
Hill, Guerra, Grieve and Jonathan Hulbert each tallied one goal. Hill also recorded three blocks.
Cullen Seipp contributed two steals and three kickouts drawn.
Jorge Andres Torres started in goal, making eight saves and adding one steal.
Game 3:
The Gaels concluded the Connecticut College Invitational defeating the host school 16-12.
Hudson Grieve and Zach Roper opened up the scoring in the first quarter, giving the Gaels a 2-0 lead midway through the first quarter. The final minute saw Marc Stauble and Andres Guerra find the back of the net, as the Gaels took a 4-2 lead at the end of the first.
Each squad scored three goals in the second quarter, leading to a 7-5 Gael advantage at halftime.
The Gaels would hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game, taking the second of three contests on the day.
Stauble and Roper led the Maroon and Gold with four goals. Roper added three assists, one steal and two kickouts drawn. Strauble added five steals and five kickouts drawn.
Matthew Rothman and Andres Guerra tallied two goals apiece.
Grieve, Quinn Lloyd, Cullen Seipp, and Jonathan Hulbert each found the back of the net once.
Jorge Andres Torres picked up the win, stopping 16 Camels shots.
Next Contest
The Maroon and Gold open up conference play Friday, Sep. 30 at Princeton. Action is scheduled to being at 8:00 PM.