NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's water polo team hit home water for the first time, splitting with Division I Iona and Wheaton on Saturday from Lott Natatorium.
GAME 1: Iona 21, Conn 14
The opening quarter was a back-and-forth affair with neither side leading by more than two goals. Iona tallied the first two goals, before Thomas McDonough (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) got the Camels on the board at 5:52. The teams traded the next four goals, with Jesse Ellis (Fresno, Calif.) and Laird Welch (Carmel, Calif.) scoring for Conn as the Gaels led 4-3 after one.
McDonough struck 48 seconds into the second quarter to even the score at four apiece. However, Iona responded with the next three goals to take a 7-4 lead with 4:39 to play. Welch ended the run for Conn, but three more goals from the Gaels had Iona in front 10-5 at the break.
Jeffrey Harrington (San Diego, Calif.) tallied two goals in the opening minute to cut the deficit to 10-7, but again Iona answered with three straight goals. Ellis cut into the advantage with a marker with 31 seconds left, but Iona scored three goals spanning the end of the third and into the fourth to extend the lead to 18-9.
Jack Dillon (Philadelphia, Pa.) ended the run with a marker for the Camels before back-to-back tallies for the Gaels. Conn answered with three straight goals, as Ellis picked up one and Zach Dixon (Wayne, Pa.) tallied two. The teams traded one more goal each, with Bruno Beznos (Boca Raton, Fla.) converting a penalty shot, as the Camels fell 21-14.
GAME 2: Conn 24, Wheaton 13
Conn bounced back in game two, cruising to a 24-13 win over Wheaton. McDonough got the contest started, scoring one minute. Spyros Raspomanikis answered for Wheaton to even the score, but Conn responded with four straight goals to push the advantage to 5-1. During the run, Ellis scored twice, while Harrington and Paul Podrebarac (Friendswood, Texas) both tallied one. The Lyons cut the deficit to 5-3, but a late goal from Ethan Hipsky (Glastonbury, Conn.) had the Camels in front 6-3 after one.
Conn opened the second quarter with another 3-0 run, as Ellis, Podrebarac, and Stevens each found the cage, as the lead grew to 9-3. Wheaton ended the run, but the Camels scored five of the final six goals of the frame to lead 14-5 at the break, as Beznos, Stevens, Dillon, Hipsky, and Benjamin Turner (Bellaire, Texas) all scored.
The Camels offense continued to click in the second half, as Conn outscored Wheaton 10-8 over the final 16 minutes. Conn got three goals from Keegan Kosiba (Birmingham, Mich.), two from Welch, and one each from Ellis, Stevens, McDonough, Dillon, and Andrew Rose (Dresher, Pa.) to earn the 24-13 win.
Conn returns to action next weekend, as the Camels travel to Providence, R.I. for three games beginning against Brown at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
