ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Iona University took down Austin College, 19-13, prior to taking an 18-10 setback versus George Washington University at the United States Naval Academy’s Navy Open.
In the morning match at Lejeune Hall, the Gaels led the entire match by as many as seven goals in taking care of Austin.
Junior co-captain Pavle Musikic led the Maroon and Gold with nine goals on ten shots, while junior co-captain Brett Grady and junior Daniel Raz each scored twice. Junior Hugh Coyle, sophomore Samson Williams, sophomore Toni Vlasic, freshman Christian Couch, freshman Charlie Harbour and freshman Jack Robison added solo markers.
In goal, junior co-captain PJ Bartzen had 12 saves on 32 Kangaroos’ shots along with two steals.
The Gaels scored 19 goals on 31 shots and recorded 11 assists, with four from Robison and a trio by Musikic.
On defense, Iona made nine steals with three by Musikic and blocked seven shots with two each by Grady and freshman Logan Hardel. The Gaels drew 10 Kangaroos’ kickouts – with four by Musikic – including four five-meter penalties, while being ejected eight times, including two five-meter penalties.
Iona committed 14 turnovers. The Gaels scored three man-up goals on 10 chances, while Austin had one goal on six man-up opportunities.
Grady won all four swim-offs.
Musikic needed only 19 seconds into the match to find the back twine. Couch made it 2-0 before Musikic hammered home a pair of srikes – including a five-meter penalty goal – to give the Gaels a 4-0 lead with 5:24 remaining in the opening eight minutes. After the Kangaroos sliced the Iona lead back to three, Musikic struck again for a four-goal 5-1advantage. Austin chipped its deficit down to 5-2 with 3:09 left in the first quarter before the teams traded goals, with Vlasic tallying for a 6-2 Iona edge. After the ‘Roos answered in the closing 1:16, Musikic and Harbour put the Gaels up 8-3 heading into the second quarter.
Austin moved back to within four at 8-4 with 1:46 gone in the second quarter, but Musikic’s sixth score upped the Iona edge to 9-4 13 ticks later. Three straight Kangaroos’ scores, including a five-meter penalty goal with 2:38 left on the clock, chopped the Iona cushion to 9-7 going into halftime.
Iona outscored Austin 6-2 in the third quarter to put the game away. Musikic scored twice, including a five-meter penalty goal, while Williams and Raz both added single strikes to ignite a 4-0 rally for a 13-7 edge with 5:07 on the clock. Following an Austin five-meter penalty goal, Grady struck twice for a 15-8 lead at the 1:18 mark. A Kangaroos’ goal with 23 ticks left cut the Gaels lead to back to 15-9 through 24 minutes of action.
Coyle opened the final quarter with a five-meter penalty score, but two unanswered Austin goals trimmed the Iona lead back to 16-11 with 6:04 left in regulation. Musikic found the back of the net for the ninth time, followed by Robison, to restore a seven-goal/18-11 advantage with 4:18 to play. Raz’s second score answered an Austin score, but the ‘Roos sliced the Gaels edge to 19-13 with 2:57 to go as Iona held on for its first win of the season.
Facing George Washington, early offensive and defensive struggles allowed the Revolutionaries to go on an 11-1 first half run in building an insurmountable lead versus Iona.
Harbour led the Maroon and Gold with four goals on six shots, while Musikic and Couch scored twice. Coyle and Raz added one goal each.
In goal, Bartzen had two saves on 10 Revolutionaries’ shots with eight goals against in the first eight minutes of competition. Sophomore Kyle Chin Lee had five saves on 17 Revolutionaries shots with 10 goals against and one steal in relief duty during the second, third and fourth quarters.
The Gaels scored 10 goals on 35 shots and recorded five assists. On defense, Iona made eight steals, two by Harbour, and blocked four shots with a pair by Harbour. The Gaels drew eight Revolutionaries’ kickouts, including one five-meter penalty, while being ejected six times, including one five-meter penalty. Iona committed seven turnovers. Iona scored four man-up goals on eight opportunities, while George Washington had three man-up markers on six bids. Grady won two of four swim-offs.
George Washington got on the board first with three straight scores for a 3-0 lead with 3:56 left in the opening quarter. The Revolutionaries tacked on two more goals until Musikic ended the Gaels’ offensive drought to cut the GW edge to four at 5-1 with 1:47 to go in the first quarter. Three more tallies in the closing 1:32 gave George Washington an 8-1 advantage through eight minutes of competition.
Continuing a 5-0 run, two more Revolutionaries’ goals padded the Revs’ margin to 10-1 with two minutes gone in the second quarter. George Washington added a five-meter penalty goal before Couch to back within nine at 11-2 at the 4:36 mark. Following another Revolutionaries’ five-meter penalty score, Harbour buried the ball in the back of the net on two consecutive possessions as Iona scratched back to within eight (12-4) at 1:51. He completed a second quarter hat-trick by tossing in another strike with two ticks left in the first half to shrink GW’s deficit at 12-5 prior to the break.
Musikic opened the second half with a five-meter penalty goal with 2:31 gone to shrink GW’s margin to 12-6. Coyle continued the Iona offensive surge to shave George Washington’s edge to 12-7 with 4:33 to go in the frame. However, back-to-back-to-back tallies by the Revs pushed GW’s margin back to eight at 15-7 by the conclusion of the third quarter.
Continuing a 4-0 run, the Revolutionaries added another score to go ahead 16-7 with 2:40 gone in the final frame. Couch’s second goal sliced the George Washington advantage back to eight, 16-8, with 4:34 left. The teams then traded heaves as Harbour’s fourth score answered another Revolutionaries’ goal to once again shrink GW’s lead down to eight at 17-9 with 3:03 left in regulation. Following another George Washington score, Raz cut the Revolutionaries’ final margin of victory back to eight at 18-10 in the closing minute.
Information courtesy George Washington University Athletics Communications
