After splitting a doubleheader at home between Harvard and MIT, the Iona men’s water polo team traveled to Queens to take on the  20th  ranked St. Francis College.

A year ago, St. Francis went to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament before losing to  champion USC.

Saint Francis, who was  ranked No. 12 in the country last season, defeated the Gaels in New Rochelle 13-9.

In the game, the Gaels had to face one of the best goalkeepers in the nation in sophomore Igor Mladenovic, but were still able to create a fair amount of offense.

Senior Cameron Hudson was able to score three goals and two goal nights from freshman Jake Lloyd and sophomore Matthew Stelnicki helped to keep the game close through three quarters.

But with the ending of the third quarter, the Terriers started to run away with the game.

St. Francis was able to get three goals to take a 10-6 lead going into the final quarter and  continued to play well in the final quarter.

St. Francis went on to score four times in the final quarter to win 14-7 in a game where it never trailed.

The closest Iona got to taking the lead was in the second quarter when one of Lloyd’s goals tied the game at three.

In the loss, sophomore Stefen Hill recorded 12 saves.

“We played one of our better games of the season through three quarters, but St. Francis knows how to win,” said Coach Brian Kelly. “They have one of the best goalies in the nation in Mladenovic and they did not make a lot of