The Iona College Women’s Water Polo team traveled to Marist to claim their third consecutive MAAC title as they now look forward to the NCAA Tournament.

The Maroon & Gold faced Marist in the first round. Losing both regular season contests to the Red Foxes, Iona won when it mattered most in a 12-9 decision. Senior Alyssa Turza, a first-team All-MAAC selection, led the Gaels with four goals, while junior Amy Olsen, MAAC Offensive Player of the Year and Iona’s leading scorer, hit three. Junior goalie Marisa Gaynor recorded thirteen saves in the victory.

Iona proceeded to take on Wagner for the MAAC title for the third consecutive year. The Gaels defeated Wagner 12-10 in the championship game for the MAAC crown. Junior Erika Lauraitis, who made the All-MAAC Second Team, scored three. Olsen, junior utility Sarah Hanly and sophomore driver Katie Stelnicki scored two goals each for the Gaels. Turza and freshmen Meghan Mahoney and Taylor Silva each added one goal for Iona.

Despite a rough start to the season (4-4), the Maroon & Gold did not lose focus on the ultimate goal. Iona never cheated themselves, even during the 4-4 start, as Coach Brian Kelly was both confident, and frustrated at times, because of the games that were being dropped.

We can all define their turnaround and the beginning of their championship run when they headed out west on to their annual California spring break trip. Coach Kelly greatly emphasized that trip as the ‘turning point’ of the season. The team is together for a week without the stress of school or usual home chores, and all they did was bond and breathe water polo all week long. During the California trip, the Maroon & Gold went 5-2 while defeating schools such as George Washington and Redlands.

Iona entered conference play with a 9-6 overall record and were the favorite by maacsports.com to win the MAAC title. Rival teams in Wagner and Marist proved to be the toughest squads next to Iona in the conference. Marist turned out to be the lone team to have beaten the Maroon & Gold as both games were decided by a one goal difference (9-8 and 8-7). Wagner was closer than any other team to defeating Iona as both games saw a one goal difference and the March 23 game was decided in overtime. As the regular season came to a close, a three way tie between Iona, Marist, and Wagner resulted in the three teams being regular season champs.

A coach who constantly adjusts, highly motivated players with great track records and some young new blood, celebrated a very special year by claiming their third consecutive MAAC crown.