The Iona College men’s water polo team finished in fifth place at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Northern Division Championships last weekend with a 2-1 record.

On Nov.9 the Gaels suffered a narrow defeat to number four seed MIT and were able to rebound with a 16-5 route against the number seventh seed, the Connecticut College Camels. On Sunday, Iona faced off against their cross-town rivals, Fordham University for fifth place and won 12-11 in overtime.

“I thought the team had an overall strong outing this weekend,” junior Ian Thompson said.

In the first game Iona faced off against MIT, trying to avenge a one-goal loss from their previous meeting. Within the first two minutes senior co-captain Matt Stelnicki scored a backhand from set, and junior Kyle Elmore put away a goal during a man up opportunity. Later in the half senior Lee Stiles earned two five meters and juniors Jake Lloyd and Jimmy Ramaley were able to score on the penalty shots. The Gaels had a 6-2 lead but MIT was able to narrow the margin 6-5 with a 3-0 run to end the half. In a back and forth second half, there were many lead changes. With MIT up 10-9 with a minute left, the Gaels earned an exclusion, but were unable to capitalize as the MIT goalkeeper made the save.

Despite the loss, the Gaels came back in their second game and were quickly able to build a 10-1 lead against the Camels. Iona went on to defeat the Camels 16-5 and were set to play Fordham next.

The Fordham Rams opened up the game with the first goal and the Gaels answered with three by captains Driscoll, Stelnick and senior Sean Davis. Iona held the lead through the first half with goals by Ramaley, Davis and Lloyd. The Gaels stormed out with a big third quarter, building a 10-6 lead going into the fourth. Lloyd led the quarter with two goals while Davis and classmate Jonathon Hernold had one each. In the fourth quarter the Gaels let their guard down and let the Rams back into the game, allowing the Rams to tie the game at 10 with less than a minute in regulation.

In overtime, Thompson took control of the game, dominating the center position and scoring one goal. The Rams answered back and tied the game 11-11. However, Thompson once again drew an exclusion that led to his second goal, the eventual game winner. In the second overtime period both teams remained scoreless and the Gaels were able to run out the clock to secure the win.

“For the overtime win, I was pumped to contribute,” Thompson said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the great sets that I had from my team. I’m excited to move forward with the last two weeks in the season and use the momentum we gained here into Easterns.”

The Gaels hope to continue their season at the CWPA Championships in two weeks held at Brown University.