PRINCETON, N.J. — The Iona University men’s water polo team dropped a pair of non-conferences games versus Santa Clara University, 17-10, and George Washington University, 15-9, on the final day of the 2022 Princeton University Invitational.
Facing Santa Clara, Iona fell behind 8-2 in the first quarter on the way to a six-goal loss.
Senior Lester Machado, sophomore William Harrington and freshman Sole Fratila lead the Gaels with two goals apiece. Graduate co-captain Justin Ginsburg, senior Mohamed Refaat, sophomore Luksa Vlasic, freshman Edward Imm each scored once. The Gaels made 10 goals on 27 shots and nine assists with pairs of helpers by Ginsburg and Fratila.
In goal, junior Diego Gomez had 14 saves on 34 Broncos’ shots, made one steal and had 17 goals against. On defense, the Gaels had ten steals with two by Refaat and blocked four shots. Iona drew 11 Broncos kick outs with four by junior co-captain Andrew Miller, while being ejected 11 times. Iona scored four goals on 11 man-up chances compared to Santa Clara’s five goals on 11 man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over 12 times.
Santa Clara struck first on a five-meter penalty goal with 13 seconds gone in the match for a 1-0 edge, then followed with a score on its next possession to lead 2-0 with 6:50 left in the opening period. Scoring on their next chance, the Broncos continued a 3-0 run until Refaat got Iona on the board to get within two 3-1 with 6:06 left. Two consecutive Santa Clara scores, including a five-meter penalty goal, gave the Broncos a 5-1 advantage at the 5:25 mark. After two more Broncos goals, Machado got the Gales back within five 5-2 with 1:38 left. With two ticks left, another Santa Clara score resulted in an 8-2 Broncos’ lead going into the second quarter.
Santa Clara opened the second quarter by finding the back of the cage for a 9-2 edge with 48 ticks gone. Vlasic ignited a 3-0 Gaels’ run at the 2:28 mark, followed by two straight scores by Fratila to slice the Broncos advantage to four 9-5 with 1:56 left. After Santa Clara tacked on two goals to go back up six 11-5, Imm trimmed the Gaels’ deficit to five at 11-6 with 24 seconds left. The Broncos closed the quarter with another goal 16 ticks later for a 12-6 halftime advantage.
Iona outscored Santa Clara 3-2 in the third quarter. With 20 seconds gone in the third quarter, the Broncos went up seven 13-6. Following another Broncos’ score, Harrington capitalized on a six-on-five chance, then followed with another score to narrow the Santa Clara edge to six at 14-8 with 2:26 remaining on the clock. Thirty-four seconds later, Ginsburg continued a 3-0 Gaels’ rally as Iona pulled within five 14-9 going into the final frame.
Two unanswered Broncos goals to start the fourth quarter increased the Santa Clara cushion to seven at 16-9 with 3:05 remaining in regulation on the way to a 17-10 victory.
After two leads and three ties in the first half versus George Washington, Iona trailed by only three goals going into the final quarter. however, five consecutive Colonials’ goals allowed GW to escape with a 15-9 win.
Refaat led the Gaels with three goals, while Ginsburg had two scores. Machado, sophomore Edward Howaniec, Fratila and freshman Rastko Jevdjovic had one goal each. The Gaels scored nine goals on 32 shots on seven assists with two each from Refaat and sophomore Luka Nastic.
In goal, senior Kyle Laufenberg had 15 saves, including stopping a five-meter penalty shot, on 30 Colonials’ shots, made one steal and had 14 goals against. In the fourth quarter, freshman Aleksandar Slavkovic posted one save on two Colonials shots.
On defense, the Gaels had eight steals and blocked three shots with two by Refaat. Iona drew eight Colonials’ kickouts with five by Vlasic, and one five-meter penalty, while being ejected eight times. Iona scored four goals on eight man-up chances, while George Washington scored five goals on seven man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over 10 times.
George Washington struck first for a 1-0 lead with 1:09 gone in the match. Refaat answered to tie the score at one with 4:22 left in the opening quarter. Two straight Colonials scores in the closing 3:44 gave George Washington a 3-1 edge going into the second quarter.
Ginsburg needed only 43 seconds into the second period to pull Iona within one 3-2. Jerdjovic followed to knot the score at two with 6:24 to go. Continuing a 3-0 Gaels’ run, Ginsburg capitalized on a six-on-five advantage as Iona took a 4-3 lead at the 5:48 mark. The Colonials retied the game at four-all with 1:26 left. Twenty-six ticks later, George Washington retook a one-goal advantage at 5-4 entering halftime.
With 14 seconds gone in the third quarter, the Colonials continued a 3-0 run to go up two 6-4. On the Gaels next trip down the pool, Fratila pulled Iona back within one 5-4 with 6:18 left. Two straight Colonials’ goals gave George Washington a three-goal cushion 8-5 at the 5:26 mark. After a Gaels’ timeout, Refaat buried a five-meter penalty shot to slice the Colonials lead to two 8-6. Refaat’s third goal on Iona’s next possession got the Gaels back within one at 8-7, but George Washington responded for a 9-7 lead with 3:55 on the clock. With 1:22 remaining, the Colonials tacked on another straight score to lead 10-7 going into the final eight-minutes.
Machado’s goal cut the George Washington edge to two 8-10 with 6:22 left in the fourth period, but two straight Colonials’ goals built a 12-9 lead at 4:57. After Laufenberg stopped a five-meter penalty shot, George Washington continued its 5-0 run for a seven-goal 15-8 margin at the 1:07 mark. Howaniec scored with 49 seconds left as Iona failed to rally,
Release courtesy Iona University Athletics Communications
