After losing their first three games during the Princeton Invitational the week prior, the Iona men’s Water Polo team got back to work as they travelled to the ECAC Championships in Cambridge, Mass.

First up for the Gaels was an old nemesis in George Washington University.

The week prior, Iona lost 12-11 to GWU on a last-second penalty shot by GW freshman Daniel Tyner.

Despite the match being one week later, Iona once again fell to George Washington 5-4 in another one-goal thriller.

It was a familiar foe that defeated the Gaels, as Tyner once again scored the winning goal with 3:11 left in the match.

However, the Gaels refused to allow this loss to deter them, as they were able to win their first game of the season against Washington and Jefferson by a 12-5 score.

In the game, Iona had 11 different goal scorers; sophomore Kristian Bocage led the way with three points on two goals and an assist.

Outside of Bocage, sophomores Joseph De Leone, Kevin Caulfield and Connor Bracken and freshmen Jonathan Hernould, Paolo McCarthy, Bryan Driscoll, Sean Davis and Lee Stiles all found the score sheet.

However, following the win to Washington and Jefferson, Iona suffered their third one goal loss of the season, as Mercy Hurst were able to upend the Gaels by a 9-8 score line.

In that loss, Iona did get strong goalkeeping from freshman Stefan Hill who made 14 saves in the game.

But the loss ensured the Gaels that they finished 10th overall at the ECAC Championships.

With the conclusion of the ECAC Championship, the Gaels went back to play their first home game of the season at the Hynes Athletic Center against the 12th highest ranked team in the nation, St. Francis.

In the first half of thematch, the Gaels were able to take a 8-5 lead in front of a boisterous home crowd that were jolted by saves from Hill and two goals each from Bocage and Trevor Creighton.

In the second half, Iona found themselves with a Terriers side that was overwhelming, as St. Francis outscored Iona by an 8-1 score line in that second half to claim the 12-9 win.

Following that final loss to St. Francis, Iona travelled up to Cambridge once again as they took on Harvard.

The game against Harvard turned out to be a classic, as Iona was able to register a win in the second sudden death overtime period on a goal from Bocage.

In that game against Harvard, the Gaels were holding an 8-5 lead in the fourth quarter before Harvard fought their way back to bring the game to overtime.

In the second overtime period, Harvard held a 10-9 lead before Creighton scored with less than 20 seconds remaining to bring the game to sudden-death.

In the first sudden death period, Harvard was awarded a penalty shot, but Hill continued his fantastic work in the goal by stopping the shot and bringing the game to a second sudden death period.

Overall, Hill made 18 saves during the game, the second most in Gaels’ history.

After eight excruciating quarters, Bocage was able to put the ball past Harvard goalkeeper Alexandre Popp and end  a very thrilling water polo match as the Gaels won by an 11-10 score.

In the coming days, Iona will have games at Queens College on Sept. 29 before having a day-night doubleheader against Brown and Connecticut College on Oct. 2 at the Hynes Athletic Center.

The Gaels will also have two home games this weekend against Brown University and Connecticut College at the Hynes Athletic Center.