SANTA CLARA/SAN JOSE, Calif. — Iona University split a pair of games at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament as the Gaels dropped a 21-5 contest to No. 13 University of the Pacific at San Jose State University before upending Fresno Pacific University, 15-11, at Santa Clara University.
Managing only a single goal in the first half, Iona scored four more over the game’s final 16 minutes in a loss to Pacific.
Sophomore Samson Williams and freshman Charlie Harbour led the Maroon and Gold with two goals each, while freshman Christian Couch added a solo tally.
In goal, sophomore Kyle Chin Lee had three saves on 15 Pacific shots and 11 goals against in the first and second quarters. Junior Eric Caplener posted two saves on 11 Pacific shots and seven goals against in the second and third periods, while junior PJ Bartzen notched three stops on seven Pacific shots and four goals against in the fourth quarter.
The Gaels scored five goals on 24 shots and recorded two assists, one each by junior Ryan Tannus and Williams. On defense, Iona made four steals, including two by freshman Jack Robison, who also blocked one shot. The Gaels drew five kickouts, two by Harbour, while being ejected six times, including two five-meter penalties. Iona committed 11 turnovers. Iona scored three man-up goals on five chances, while Pacific scored one man-up goal on five chances. Junior co-captain Brett Grady won one of four swim-offs.
The Tigers got on the board first 33 seconds into the match, then scored three more goals for a 4-0 advantage at the three-minute mark. Pacific tacked on four more goals for an 8-0 edge going into the second quarter as Iona failed to score in the opening eight minutes.
After seven straight second-quarter scores, Harbour ended the Gaels’ offensive drought to cut Pacific’s lead to 14-1 with 32 seconds left. With four ticks to go, the Tigers tacked on another score for a 16-1 halftime lead.
After another Pacific goal, Couch capitalized on a man-up chance as the Tigers led 17-2 with 5:10 on the clock. Following a Tigers score, Williams hit another man-up goal with Pacific ahead 18-3.
Harbour’s second goal cut the Pacific lead to 19-4, then Williams struck for the second time to reduce the Tigers’ advantage to 20-5. Pacific sealed the 21-5 win with a five-meter penalty shot with 2:35 remaining on the clock.
In the late game, Iona exploited a second quarter surge to overpower Fresno Pacific.
Despite three ties and two lead changes in the first half, the Gaels outscored the Sunbirds by an 8-5 count in the second half for the squad’s eighth win of the season.
Junior co-captain Pavle Musikic led the Maroon and Gold with four goals on seven shots, while Couch scored three goals on four shots. Junior Daniel Raz and Tannus both scored two goals. Junior Hugh Coyle, Grady, Robison and Tate Wilson added single strikes.
In goal, Bartzen had 11 saves on 27 Fresno Pacific shots, three steals and 11 goals against.
The Gaels scored 15 goals on 31 shots and recorded ten assists, with three each from Coyle and Grady. On defense, Iona made 12 steals, three by Grady, and blocked three shots. The Gaels drew eight kick-outs, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected nine times. Iona committed ten turnovers. Iona scored two man-up goals on nine chances, while Fresno Pacific scored two man-up goals on eight chances. Grady won all four swim-offs.
Tannus needed only 37 seconds to put Iona ahead 1-0. Fresno Pacific answered on its next chance to tie the match at one with 1:05 gone. Two straight scores by Musikic and Grady gave the Gaels a two-goal, 3-1 advantage with 5:32 left in the opening quarter. After a Sunbirds’ score, two more Gaels’ goals from Coyle and Raz created a three-goal, 5-2 cushion with 1:40 left. Two unanswered Fresno Pacific goals in the closing minute trimmed the Iona lead back to one, 5-4, going into the second quarter.
Continuing a 4-0 run, the Sunbirds tied the match at five-all, then took a 6-5 edge with 3:05 gone in the second quarter. On the Gaels’ next chance, Couch tied the score at six-all with 3:55 remaining. Iona claimed a 7-6 halftime lead as Robison converted a man-up chance with 1:27 remaining on the clock.
Continuing a 3-0 rally, Couch’s second goal gave the Gaels an 8-6 cushion, but the Sunbirds answered 27 ticks later to trim the Iona lead back to 8-7 at the 6:29 mark. Couch completed a hat-trick to up the Iona edge to 9-7 at the 5:35 mark. Following an FPU marker, a skip-shot by Musikic returned a two-goal lead to the Gaels at 10-8 with 2:04 remaining in the frame. However, a Sunbirds tally with two ticks left via a seven-on-six score cut the Iona advantage to 10-9 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Iona opened the final eight minutes of regulation with a 3-0 run on Tannus’ second goal and two more from Musikic to enlarge its lead to 13-9 at the 5:26 mark. The Sunbirds sliced the Gaels’ edge back to three at 13-10 courtesy a five-meter penalty goal just 19 seconds later. and another unanswered goal got the Sunbirds back within two at 13-11 with 3:36 left to play.
Raz responded to restore a three-goal spread at 14-11 29 seconds later and Wilson widened the gap between the teams to 15-11 with 2:13 to play prior to the Gaels’ defense holding off a Sunbirds’ rally for Iona’s eighth win of the season.
“We had a disappointing start to the day this morning versus Pacific,” noted Iona head coach Brian Kelly.
“We didn’t match their intensity and physicality, and the game quickly became lopsided. You can’t show up like that with one of the best teams in the country.”
“I’m extremely happy with how we responded in the second game against a solid Fresno Pacific team. We needed a big win, and we got it thanks to a great effort by PJ in goal.”
Information courtesy Iona University Athletics Communications
