PRINCETON, N.J — In rematches against a pair of opening weekend opponents, the Iona College men’s water polo team fell to the United States Naval Academy, 15-5, and Division III No. 7-ranked Johns Hopkins University, 15-13, on the final day of the 2019 Princeton Invitational hosted by Princeton University at DeNunzio Pool.
After leading in the opening minutes, Iona allowed five straight Navy goals in the first quarter in the opening game of the day for the Gaels.
Senior co-captain Quinn Lloyd, junior Brett Hofer, sophomore German Rodriguez, junior Andrew Brozovic, freshman Lester Machado each scored for the Maroon & Gold. Lloyd recorded the Gaels only assist.
Senior Jorge Andres Torres had 12 saves on 29 Navy shots on goal, including stopping a five-meter penalty shot, and made two steals, over the course of three quarters played. Senior Michael Banks made three saves on six Navy shots on goal, including a five-meter penalty stop, in the final quarter.
On defense, Iona made 14 steals with six by Lloyd. The Gaels blocked two Navy shots. Iona drew five Midshipmen exclusions with three by Hofer and two by freshman Mohamed Refaat and were ejected six times. The Gaels turned the ball over 19 times. Iona scored on one-of-four man-up chances, while Navy capitalized on two-of-six opportunities.
With 2:20 gone in the match, Rodriguez put Iona on the board first, but Navy tied the score at one with 4:27 left in the opening quarter. That began a five-goal Navy run, including a five-meter penalty goal, which gave the Midshipmen a 5-1 edge with 1:05 on the clock. Machado trimmed the Navy lead to three with 24 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
In the opening 2:07 of the second quarter, the Midshipmen tacked on two straight goals for a 7-2 lead until Brozovic pulled the Gaels back within four at the 5:28 mark. A Navy score with 1:58 remaining gave the Midshipmen an 8-3 lead at intermission.
The second half began with the teams trading five-meter penalty shots. Torres blocked Navy’s try, then Lloyd buried Iona’s shot, which was drawn by Hofer, in the back of the net. Navy went back up 9-4 with before Hofer cut the Midshipmen’s edge to four, 9-5, at the 3:14. Three unanswered Navy scores in the closing 2:41 resulted in a 12-5 Midshipmen advantage going into the final quarter. Iona did not score in the final quarter.
Being down by a single goal with 5:46 remaining against Johns Hopkins, Iona allowed three straight fourth quarter scores in suffering a two-goal defeat. The matchup featured eight ties and two lead changes.
Hofer led the Gaels with five goals on seven shots, while also contributing one assist and two drawn exclusions. Rodriguez had two scores on four shots. Lloyd, senior co-captain Phil Wachowski, Brozovic, sophomore Justin Ginsburg, Refaat and Machado had one goal each. The Gaels made six assists with two by Rodriguez.
In goal, Torres made 14 saves on 31 Johns Hopkins shots and swiped one steal.
On defense, the Gaels made six steals with three from Lloyd. Iona also blocked three shots. The Gaels drew six exclusions, while being ejected 11 times. Lloyd and Rodriguez were disqualified with three ejections each. Iona committed 15 times turnovers. The Gaels scored four goals on six man-up chances, while Johns Hopkins capitalized on 11 of 13 chances.
Johns Hopkins struck first with 2:01 gone in the game, then added a man-up score to go up 2-0 with 5:08 left in the first period. After drawing a Blue Jays exclusion, Rodriguez got Iona on the board at the 4:41 mark. A three-goal Iona run put Iona up 3-1 with 1:30 left. Two unanswered Johns Hopkins goals in the closing minute tied the game at three.
Three straight Johns Hopkins scores, including two man-up chances, gave the Blue Jays a 7-4 advantage with 4:28 left before halftime. When Torres was ejected, Ginsburg blocked a sure John Hopkins goal, and it was followed with Refaat and Hofer netting a pair to pull Iona within one. Johns Hopkins answered, but two Iona goals from Ginsburg and Hofer in the closing 1:45 knotted the score at eight at intermission.
In the third quarter, both squads scored four goals, which resulted in four tie scores. After going up one 13-12 with 5:45 gone in the fourth quarter, the Blue Jays tacked on two more scores to lead 15-12 at the 1:23 mark. Hofer’s fifth goal trimmed Johns Hopkins final lead to two 15-13 with 42 seconds remaining.
After his squad’s strong performance on Friday, September 13, against Wagner College in a 13-9 loss, Iona head coach Brian Kelly was disappointed with today’s letdown.
“Our day was filled with forced and unforced turnovers,” Kelly said. “We didn’t give ourselves a very good chance to win either game today. It’s extremely frustrating after how well we played yesterday.”
Release courtesy Iona College Athletics Communications
