Following an 8-18 season with a fifth place finish in the Northern Championships, Iona’s men’s water polo team will look to move forward with a strong season.

Following the preseason, head coach Brian Kelly is looking forward to the upcoming season for the men’s water polo team.

“I’m extremely excited for the upcoming season. The team is looking better than it has in years and we are working extremely hard. We have a ton of talent and are deep at all positions,” Kelly said. “We have size, speed, strength and several potential All Americans. Our newcomers are really beginning to step up and insert themselves in practices. We’re going to have a solid foundation for years to come.”

Kelly expects his upperclassmen to lead the way. The team’s 2012 MVP, junior Jake Lloyd will try to be one of the leading scorers in the country after scoring 65 goals last season.

Juniors James Ramaley and Kyle Elmore along with sophomore Zach Presto will be key in leading the Gaels’ attack.

The Gaels two-meter offense play will feature junior Ian Thompson, who played this summer in California for the New York Athletic Club. Senior Lee Stiles will also have an impact on the outside and in the two-meters posting up, as he did last season.

Senior Bryan Driscoll adds depth to the two- meter offense along with Presto.

Defensively, senior goalie Stefen Hill will have a big impact on the team’s success. The Gaels will also look to senior center defenders Jonathan Hernould and Matt Stelnicki, along with Presto and Lloyd, to help out Hill on the defensive end.

Rounding out the team’s depth will be juniors Nicholas Joslyn and Eric Corley who will both see increased playing time. Both men played well during training camp and will play important roles for the Gaels this season.

The season will begin on September 7th at the Navy Tournament in Annapolis, MD. The Gaels will face Johns Hopkins and Navy during the first day of the tournament before facing Diablo Valley College and Bucknell in the following day of the competition.

Iona will play their first match in the Hynes Athletics Center on Sept. 21 against MIT and Harvard. The Gaels will play six home matches this season.