NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Leading the entire match, the Iona University men’s water polo team wrapped up its home schedule with 13 Gaels scoring in a 20-10 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) win over Connecticut College at Hynes Pool.
James DiSalle and co-captain Mohamed Refaat led the Maroon & Gold with three goals each, while co-captain Luksa Vlasic, Coby Scanlon and Brett Grady had two goals apiece. Rastko Jevdjovic, Schuyler Newberger, Sean Mulcrone, John Barrett, Hugh Coyle, Roberto Perez-Puente, Daniel Raz and Ryan Tannus each scored one goal. The Gaels scored 20 goals on 41 shots and made 14 assists with three by Jevdjovic.
In cage during the first quarter, Aleksandar Slavkovic had two saves on seven Camels’ shots and had one goal against. In the second quarter, P.J. Bartzen had two saves on nine Connecticut shots, including a five-meter penalty shot block, made one assist and had three goals against. In the third quarter, sophomore Orlando Hernandez notched two saves on four Camels’ shots, made one steal and had two goals against. In the fourth quarter, Eric Caplener recorded three saves on 10 Camels’ shots and had four goals against.
On defense, the Gaels made 21 steals with four each from Vlasic and Jevdjovic. The Gaels blocked two Connecticut shots. Iona drew 12 Camels’ kickouts with three by Scanlon, including four five-meter penalties, while being ejected four times, including one five-meter penalty. Iona scored five goals on 10 man-up chances, while Connecticut did not score on five man-up opportunities. The Gaels turned the ball over 16 times. Scanlon won two of four sprints.
DiSalle needed only 23 seconds into the match to put Iona on the board, followed by Vlasic’s man-up goal for a 2-0 home edge with 6:25 left in the first quarter. After the Camels’ sole score in the opening eight minutes, Jevdjovic sparked a 3-0 Gaels’ run with two goals and another by Barrett to put Iona up four 5-1 with 3:19 on the clock.
After Refaat’s goal, Connecticut answered to get back within four 6-2, but DiSalle’s second score restored a five-goal home edge at 7-2 by the 5:01 mark of the second quarter. After another Camels’ score, the Gaels tacked on two straight goals with one from Coyle and two from Scanlon to go up seven 10-3 with 2:06 remaining in the first half. Following a Connecticut goal, Tannus scored with four ticks left for an 11-4 halftime advantage.
Iona opened the second half with three consecutive goals from DiSalle, Vlasic and Grady for a 14-4 margin with 5:17 left in the third quarter. After a Connecticut score, Iona tallied three straight goals for a 17-5 cushion with 2:45 on clock.
After a Camels’ goal, Newburger buried a five-meter penalty shot with 1:11 gone in the final quarter for an 18-7 Iona edge. The visitors answered on their next chance to slice the home advantage back to 18-8, but Mulcrone put the Gaels back-up by eleven. Connecticut struck again to trim the lead to 19-9 with 3:36 remaining, but a five-meter penalty shot from Raz pushed Iona’s lead to 20-9 with 2:31 left in regulation prior to a marker by the Camels in the closing seconds to establish the 20-10 final score.
Information courtesy Iona University Athletics Communications
