Bronx, N.Y. – (February 12, 2021) – After 446 days and some early postponements, the Fordham water polo team had their opening match of the season on Friday night at the Messmore Aquatic Center, taking home a 17-11 win over the Iona Gaels.
Fordham got off on the right foot in the first quarter, courtesy of newcomer
Hans Zdolsek, netting two first quarter goals to give the Rams a 2-1 lead after the first quarter.
The Rams and Gaels then battled back and forth in the second with each team netting five goals. After Iona tied the game at two, Fordham scored three straight markers to take a 5-2 lead. Zdolsek had his third and fourth goals of the game in that span with a goal by
Jason Hiremath sandwiched in-between.
After exchanging goal to make it 7-4, Iona closed the gap to one, 7-6, with two goals in the final 1:26 of the second quarter.
Bailey O'Mara pulls away from an Iona attacker.
Fordham then took over in the third quarter, getting goals from
Curtis Vidinoff and Hiremath to re-build a 9-6 lead. Iona looked to get back into the game with 4:02 left, when Fordham was charged with a team penalty. However, Fordham goalkeeper
Bailey O'Mara stoned the Iona shooter on the penalty shot to keep it a three-goal game.
Zdolsek and
Daniel Lynch increased the Fordham lead to five at 11-6 before an extra-man goal for the Gaels made it 11-7. Hiremath responded with a man-up goal of his own to re-claim the five-goal lead, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Rams then wrapped up the match with another five-goal quarter to take home the 17-11 win. In the final frame,
Sam Wheeler had two goals with Vidinoff,
Quinn Wagner, and
Michael Rahner each having one.
For Fordham, Zdolsek had a fantastic debut with six goals, four assists, and four steals, while Hiremath had three goals, and assists, and three blocks. Vidinoff also had three markers in the game with Wheeler having two and Lynch adding a goal and two assists. In net, O'Mara made eight saves, including a penalty block to go with six steals with
Aldo Ordoñez making one saves over the final two minutes of action.
The Rams and Gaels will match-up again on Sunday, February 14
th with game time set for noon.
Gallery: (2-12-2021) Water Polo vs. Iona - 2/12/2021
