PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hoping for its first season win, the Iona University men’s water polo team instead dropped two non-conference matches today by losing in overtime to Gannon University, 17-15, to accompany a 25-7 setback versus No. 5-ranked Fordam University on the final day of the Bruno Classic hosted by Brown University.
In an overtime match that featured seven ties and two lead changes, Iona fell short versus Gannon.
Juniors Pavle Musikic (seven shots) and Hugh Coyle (five shots) led the Maroon and Gold with three goals each, while junior Daniel Raz, freshman Christian Couch and freshman Charlie Harbour scored two goals apiece. Junior Brett Grady, junior Ryan Tannus and freshman Jack Robison added one score each.
In goal, junior PJ Bartzen had seven saves on 34 Golden Knights shots with 17 goals against.
The Gaels scored 15 goals on 40 shots and made nine assists, with three each from Musikic and Tannus. On defense, Iona made three steals and blocked seven shots, with four by Grady. The Gaels drew 13 Golden Knights’ kickouts (three disqualifications) with five by Musikic, including three five-meter penalties, while being ejected seven times, including a five-meter penalty. Iona committed eight turnovers. Iona scored six man-up goals on 15 chances, while Gannon scored three man-up goals on six chances. Grady won two of four six-offs.
Gannon got on the board first with three straight scores for a 3-0 edge with 4:33 left in the opening eight minutes. Starting a 3-0 Gaels’ run, Harbour ended the Iona drought with 3:18 left to slice the Gannon advantage to 3-1. With 56 seconds left, Coyle buried a five-meter penalty shot followed by Raz’s goal to tie the match at three-all going into the second quarter.
With 1:56 gone in the second quarter, Gannon went back up one at 4-3. Couch converted a man-up chance to retie the score at four-all with 5:19 to go. Musikic gave the Gaels their first lead, 5-4, via a five-meter penalty goal with 4:24 on the clock. Coyle’s second score on a man-up chance upped the Iona advantage to 6-4 with 2:45 remaining until halftime. Just 41 ticks later, Robison did the same for a three-goal 7-4 Iona edge. Continuing a 5-0 run, Couch also hit a man-up goal for an 8-4 Iona lead, but Gannon answered with three seconds left to trim the Gaels’ halftime edge to 8-5.
The Golden Knights’ quarter-opening goal cut the Gaels’ edge back to two, 8-6, with 16 seconds gone in the second half. Raz’s restored a three-goal 9-6 Iona advantage just a minute later. After a Gannon goal, Musikic’s second score put Iona back up three, 10-7 with 3:52 remaining. Three straight Golden Knights’ goals resulted in the game’s third tie at 10-all, then the Gaels regained the lead 11-10 with 1:03 left. Gannon answered on its next chance to knot the game at 11-all going into the final quarter.
Musikic’s third goal on a five-meter penalty shot regained the Iona lead 12-11 with 1:40 gone in the final eight minutes. Gannon also converted a five-meter penalty goal to tie the match at 12-all just 1:02 later. With 50 ticks left, Harbour’s second goal put Iona back up one 13-12, but Gannon scored just 29 seconds later for a 13-all tie and overtime.
Grady put Iona back up one 14-13 with 57 seconds left in the first overtime period, but two straight Gannon goals gave the Golden Knights a 15-14 edge leading into the second overtime. Two more consecutive Gannon scores in the second overtime gave the Golden Knights a 17-15 win despite a Tannus’ goal with six seconds left.
Facing their third nationally ranked team in two days, the Gaels fell 25-7 to No. 5/New York metropolitan nemesis Fordham.
Musikic led the Maroon and Gold with four goals on eight shots, while Coyle scored twice on four shots. Tannus added one goal.
In cage, sophomore Kyle Chin Lee had eight saves on 34 Rams’ shots with three steals and 25 goals against.
The Gaels scored seven goals on 27 shots and made four assists. On defense, Iona made three steals and blocked three shots. The Gaels drew six Rams kick-outs, three by Musikic, including two five-meter penalties, while being ejected five times, including one five-meter penalty. Iona committed 17 turnovers. Iona scored two man-up goals on six chances, while Fordham scored four man-up goals on five chances. Grady won two of four swim-offs.
Fordham opened the match with three straight scores for a 3-0 lead with 2:14 gone in the first quarter. Musikic got Iona on the board to slice the Fordham edge to 3-1 with 5:12 on the clock. The Rams tacked on four consecutive goals to build a 7-1 advantage going into the second quarter.
With 46 ticks gone in the second quarter, Musikic scooped up a loose ball for a breakaway skip-shot goal to pull Iona within five at 7-2. The Rams answered on their next possession to go up 8-2 and Tannus sliced the Fordham margin to 8-3, but the Rams scored four straight goals for a 12-3 lead with 58 seconds left in the first half. Fourteen seconds later, Coyle’s five-meter penalty goal sliced the Fordham halftime advantage back to eight at 12-4.
The Gaels were unable to rally back in the second as the Rams claimed victory.
Information courtesy Iona University Athletics Communications
