Photo GalleryIt was two heated rivals with a large crowd in attendance at the Hynes Center in New Rochelle on Wednesday night, as the Fordham and Iona water polo teams did not disappoint giving the fans an incredible contest. In the end, Fordham's
R.J. Simmons capped off a big night with the game-winning goal in sudden death overtime to give the Rams a 12-11 win.
Not only did the win give Fordham a much needed boost in the CWPA standings, but the Rams also got possession of the Judge Cup for the first time since 2012, which honors Francis X. Judge , who has deep ties to both programs.
The game was tight from the start with Iona holding a 2-1 lead after the first quarter with
Magnus Sims scoring for Fordham.
The Rams then netted three markers in the second quarter to pull out a 4-3 lead at halftime.
R.J. Simmons netted a penalty shot goal to give Fordham the halftime lead, while
Andrew Gonzalez and
Patrick Reyes also scored.
Iona netted three straight goals to take a 6-4 lead, but markers from
Bobby Wurtz and
Diego Delgado tied the game at six before
Patrick Lenihan tapped in the go-ahead marker at 7-6.
R.J. Simmons celebrates after his game-winning goal in overtime.Iona would force overtime at nine all, and grabbed an 11-10 lead after the first three minutes of overtime. However Fordham tied the game at 11 to push the game into sudden death overtime.
Just 1:24 into that session, Delgado took a shot from straight on that the Iona goalkeeper stopped but could not control the rebound. Simmons grabbed the rebound and fired home the game-winning tally.
Sophomore
Alex Jahns recorded double-digit saves, 12, for the sixth time this season and now has 10 occasions with at least nine.
The Fordham water polo team will next be in action on Friday, October 23rd, when the Rams host Salem International at 8:00 PM at the Messmore Aquatic Center. That game will be streamed on the Patriot League network.
