COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — After dropping a 13-10 decision to host the United States Air Force Academy, the Iona University men’s water polo team rebounded for a 17-12 victory over Westcliff University to open the 2022 Rare Air Challenge.
Down by eight goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter to the host Falcons, the Gaels took off on a five-goal run which fell short in a 17-12 loss to Air Force. Sophomore Luksa Vlasic and junior James DiSalle led Iona with two goals apiece. Graduate student/co-captain Justin Ginsburg, senior/co-captain Mohamed Refaat, junior Luksa Vlasic, junior/co-captain Andrew Miller, sophomore Edward Howaniec and freshman Matthew Mischlich scored one once in the setback as Iona converted on 10-of-37 shots with seven assists.
In goal, senior Kyle Laufenberg made nine saves on 30 Falcons’ shots with made a steal.
On defense, the Maroon and Gold had ten steals and blocked eight shots with two by freshman Coby Scalon. Iona drew 15 Falcons’ kick outs and one five-meter penalties shot with four ejections drawn by Vlaisic and two by Refaat, while being ejected ten times. Freshman Rastko Jevdjovic was disqualified with three kickouts. The Gaels turned the ball over 14 times.
With 5:09 gone in the match, Air Force got on the board first for a 1-0 lead. After three unanswered Falcons scores, Refaat’s goal pulled the Gaels within three 4-1 with :44 seconds left in the opening frame. Three more straight Air Force goals, including a 6-5 chance, put the hosts up 7-1 with 4:44 remaining in the second quarter. Miller capitalized on a man-up opportunity to slice the Air Force edge to six 7-2 at the 2:28 mark. Thirty-eight seconds later, the Falcons answered with their own man-up score to go back up six 8-2. With 32 ticks left, Vlasic stole an Air Force pass, then found the back of the net to narrow the Falcons lead to 8-3 at halftime.
The hosts opened the third quarter with two consecutive goals for a 10-3 edge with 1:07 gone. Vlasic’s second goal got the Gaels back within six 10-4 with 5:25 on the clock. The Falcons answered on their next trip down the pool for a 11-4 cushion just 41 seconds later. Howaniec’s score sliced the Air Force lead back to six 11-5 with 3:33 remaining. Another Falcons goal at 1:48 gave Air Force a 12-5 advantage going into the final eight minutes.
In the fourth quarter, Iona outscored Air Force 5-1. After an Air Force goal, Bauman buried a five-meter penalty shot to cut the host lead back to seven 13-6 with 6:18 left in regulation. Two more Iona goals by Mischlich and DiSalle continued a 3-0 Gaels’ run to get within five 13-8 with 4:38 remaining. Ginsburg’s score extended the Gaels’ run to 4-0 to close within four 13-9 at the 2:11 mark. With 59 seconds left, DiSalle’s second score on a man-up chance marked Iona’s fifth consecutive goal to move the Gaels within three at 13-10.
However, Air Force was able to run out the clock to as the Gaels’ luck ran out.
In an evening match featuring seven ties, five lead changes and a five-all halftime score, Iona outscored Westcliff 12-7 in the second half for the Gaels’ third victory of the season. Freshman Sole Fatila led the team with six goals on eight shots, while Refaat had four scores. Miller and junior Trippe Bauman scored twice and Ginsburg, DiSalle and Mischlich each scored once as Iona converted on 17-of-30 shots with five assists.
In goal, freshman Aleksandar Slavkovic had six saves, including two five-meter penalty stops, on 25 Warriors’ shots, to go along with a steal.
On defense, the Maroon and Gold posted five steals and a pair of blocked shots. Iona drew 11 Warriors kickouts, while being ejected 12 times.
The Gaels struck first on a tally by Refaat 40 seconds into the match. The Warriors answered to tie the game with 6:18 remaining in the first quarter. After Slavkovic stopped a Westcliff five-meter penalty shot, the Warriors scored two straight goals to go up two 3-1 with 3:54 left. Bauman needed only 50 seconds to cut the Westcliff lead back to one (3-2) before Refaat followed with a five-meter penalty score to knot the score at three-all with 2:12 on the clock. On a five-goal quarter-closing run, the Gaels retook a one-goal lead on Miller’s goal with 33 seconds left, then went up two 5-3 with seven ticks left as Refaat hit another five-meter penalty score for this third goal heading into the second quarter.
After Refaat missed on his third five-meter penalty chance with 1:10 gone, the Warriors cut the Gaels’ edge back to one 5-4 at the 4:19 mark. With 1:12 left, Westcliff knotted the match for the third time via a man-up strike to balance the scoreboard at five-all heading into halftime.
The tie lasted 58 seconds into the third quarter as a man-up tally by Miller second goal ended the Gaels’ offensive drought. A Westcliff five-meter penalty shot retied the score at six-all prior to the Warriors pulling ahead at 7-6 edge with 5:29 on the clock.
After DiSalle evened the damage at seven-all, Westcliff answered to go back up one 8-7 with 4:51 left in the third quarter.
Fatila took advantage of a six-on-five chance to lock the game at eight-all with 3:22 remaining. Following a brief one-goal Westcliff lead, Mischlich tied the score at nine-all with 2:06 to go in the quarter. The Warriors answered on their next possession, but Ginsburg converted a six-on-five opportunity to make it 10-all at the 1:16 mark. Fatila concluded the back-and-forth scoring in the third quarter by punching in his second goal on a man-up chance to stake Iona to an 11-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Gaels began to pull away in the early moments of the final eight minutes as five-meter penalty shots by Fatila and Refaat pushed the team out to a 13-10 margin by the time 1:04 passed off the clock. Continuing a five-goal Iona run, Fatila’s fourth goal on a man-up chance upped Iona’s cushion to four at 14-10 by the 6:29 mark. After Slavkovic stopped a five-meter penalty shot by the Warriors, back-to-back Westcliff scores trimmed the Gaels’ lead to two at 14-12 with 4:10 left in regulation.
However, the Gaels closed out the game with a pair of markers by Fatila and a strike by Bauman to close out the 17-12 win.
Information courtesy Iona College Athletics Communications
