NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona College Women’s Water Polo team picked up its first MAAC victory, defeating the St. Francis Brooklyn Terrieers 16-9 Wednesday night.
Junior Hannah Schultz paved the way, scoring a game-high six goals on ten shots. Junior Devika Joshi scored three goals, as seniors Rebecca Koshy, Darby Nevins and junior Kayla Allen each scored a pair. In net, junior Britten Vilander made six saves and collected three steals.
The Maroon & Gold got off to a hot start, outscoring the Terriers 4-1 in the first eight minutes. After Joshi scored the game’s first goal two minutes in, the host was able to knot the score 3:30 later. From there, the Gaels rallied with two goals from Allen and a topped off with a strike from Joshi.
Koshy answered an early Terriers goal in the second frame to keep the Gaels ahead by three, 5-2. Schultz tallied her 33rd and 34th goals of the season in the following minutes before the Terriers rattled off three goals, trimming the deficit to two at the half.
In the third, the Terriers tallied the first score of the game, as the Gaels tried to preserve a one goal lead. The next five minutes saw Iona pull back ahead by four, with goals from Nevins, and two more from Schultz. Nevins connected with a goal with 1:24 remaining in the frame, with Iona holding a 12-8 after 24 minutes of play.
Iona continued to roll in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Terriers 3-1. Koshy’s goal propelled Iona to it’s largest lead at five 1:38 into the final period. Schullz and Joshi closed out the final minutes, with the Gaels conceding one goal.
Head Coach Brian Kelly praised his team’s resilience, “It was a very physical game. St. Francis Brooklyn is always a tough place to play. Our defense was poor in the first half. We didn’t communicate. We rebounded in the second half defensively led by Britten in net and Kayla at 2MD and got timely scoring.”
The Maroon & Gold continues their road trip this weekend with contests at Marist and La Salle.
