Oct. 24, 2012
Photo Gallery 
Bronx, N.Y. -
The CWPA regular season closed out for two teams on Wednesday night at Fordham's Messmore Aquatic Center with the annual rivalry match between Fordham and Iona. The match garnered more attention than usual, as the winner would take home the inaugural Dr. Francis X. Judge Memorial Cup, in honor of the former Fordham head coach who passed away earlier this year. In what seemed a fitting end, Fordham senior Alex Judge, Dr. Judge's grandson, scored twice and had two blocks to help Fordham defeat Iona, 10-8.
With the win, Fordham improved to 6-18 overall, 2-4 in the CWPA's Northern Division, while Iona fell to 6-17 on the year, 2-4 in the league.
Fordham opened with a 3-2 lead after the first quarter, as the Rams got extra-man goals from Nicholas Allen and Davis DeFontes, as well as an even strength goal from DeFontes.
The Rams maintained a one-goal lead by halftime, when Allen scored another extra-man goal with 50 seconds left to make it, 5-4.
Fordham then built the lead to four goals at 8-4, as the Rams scored the first three markers of the third quarter. Allen, Judge, and Bobby Wurtz were the three scorers with Allen and Wurtz's goals coming with the man-advantage.
Fordham edged ahead by five in the fourth quarter, 10-5, on Daniel Barron's first goal of the game, but Iona would not go away, scoring three straight goals to trail by two, 10-8, with 2:15 remaining. The Gaels then got a quick steal on the following restart, which led to a breakaway by Iona's Kyle Elmore. Elmore got in close to Fordham goalkeeper Noah LeBeau and tried a lob shot, but LeBeau got a fingertip on the shot to keep Fordham ahead by two.
The Rams would kill off the final two minutes to win the match, 10-8, and take the inaugural Judge Memorial Cup.
For Fordham, Allen led the way with three goals and an assist, while Judge had two goals and two blocks. DeFontes added two goals and two assists with Barron having a goal, two assists, and three steals in his final home game as a Ram. Wurtz and Ben Clinkinbeard rounded out the scoring with a goal and an assist each. In net, LeBeau recorded 13 saves.
Iona was led by Zach Presto's three goals, while Sean Davis added two. In net, Stefen Hill made eight saves.
The Fordham water polo team will next be in action on November 3-4, when the Rams compete in the CWPA Northern Division Championship, held at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
