Photo GalleryA packed house inside the Francis Messmore Aquatic Center, nearly an even split between the Fordham and Iona faithful, set the scene for a thrilling back-and-forth encounter in the latest iteration of this Northern Division rivalry. The Gaels (3-8, 2-4 CWPA) allowed a last second regulation goal but eventually triumphed in the second period of overtime to claim the first meeting of the two schools this season. The Rams fall to 10-9 (2-3 CWPA) with the defeat.
"That was a very difficult game. We got off to a decent start but Iona showed a lot of heart for being on the road," head coach
Bill Harris said after the game, "I expected that we'd score more goals and have more counter attacks but that wasn't the case. We had the lead at the end of the game but didn't execute while trying to kill the clock. I think the guys got down after that. It was a disappointing loss but we're at St. Francis [Brooklyn] coming up so we have to go back to work."
Senior co-captain
Bobby Wurtz got the Rams off to a hot start with two quick goals on the home side's first two shots of the game but Iona matched the hosts step for step early on.
Diego Delgado and
Landon Kern would tally to give Fordham a 4-2 lead late in the first when sophomore keeper
Alex Jahns made two quick saves on one possession to hold the lead.
Fordham struggled with its efficiency in front of net in the second period and were outscored 4-1 over the following eight minutes. Senior
Andrew Gonzalez netted the lone score on a long-range heave to cut the deficit to one heading into the break.
Patrick Reyes showed off some skill with a no-look goal in front of net with defenders swarming him to take a brief 7-6 lead before the Gaels equalized not too long after. After the concession, Wurtz was on the attack and quickly found classmate Gonzalez for his second less than 10 seconds into the restart.
Tied, 8-8, heading into the fourth period, the Gaels were the first to find the back of the goal just 38 seconds into a nervy frame. Over a minute later,
R.J. Simmons, who up to that point had been terrific on the defensive end with a career-high seven steals but hadn't scored on four attempts, found the net to even things back up at nine apiece.
Five tense minutes passed before it was the junior again, unassisted coming off of a foul, to break the tie with 53 seconds remaining, sending the home crowd in an uproar with an emphatic fist pump.
It didn't take long for drama to reign again when three seconds later,
Patrick Lenihan was called for a penalty. Chris Ellis, one of Iona's top scorers, stepped up. Ellis threw lower right-hand corner shot but Jahns read him correctly and spun the effort up and over the bar.
Despite Simmons' seventh steal during a 5-on-5 encounter later in the period, the Rams game up the ball with 17 seconds remaining and Andres Guerra pounced on his chance to equalize, 10-10.
The first overtime period was highlighted two goals inside the final minute. Reyes was called for a penalty and the Gaels didn't miss their second attempt to take a one goal lead. However, it was sophomore
Grant Keesling off the bench who found space from freshman
Magnus Sims in front of net and fired in his fourth career goal to tie things up, 11-11, with just 38 seconds left.
A chippy and uneventful first 150 seconds of the second period of overtime was ended with a go-ahead man-up goal from Jonathan Hulbert with 21 seconds left.
Jahns made a career-high 15 saves on the night bringing the sophomore's total to 148 on the season already, and he added two steals and the aforementioned penalty save.
Simmons recorded the career-high seven steals, three more than his previous best, plus one block but shot. The junior was joined by Wurtz, Gonzalez, and Reyes with two goals each, in addition to Delgado, Kern, and Keesling with one apiece.
The Rams are back in Northern Division action next Wednesday evening, October 14, at St. Francis Brooklyn. The match is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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