Sept. 6, 2014 Iona Box Score
PRINCETON, NJ - The Johns Hopkins water polo team used dominating performances in the second and third quarters to take control of the match en route to a 20-11 win over Iona in both teams' season opener at the Princeton Invitational Saturday. The Blue Jays open their season with a win for the third straight year and the 13th time in the last 15 seasons.
Senior co-captain Johnny Beal put the Blue Jays on the board first, scoring the first goal of the season less than 90 seconds in. But the Gaels answered with four of the next five goals to take a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hopkins found its offense in the second quarter, outscoring Iona, 6-1, to take an 8-5 lead in the match. Back-to-back goals by juniors Langdon Froomer and Kevin Yee just 34 seconds apart tied the game at four apiece with 6:05 to play in the second. Ian Thompson gave the Gaels back the lead less than a minute later.
The Blue Jays answered with six straight goals in a run that bridged halftime and saw Hopkins take a 10-5 lead. Freshman Jono Gillette scored a pair of goals for JHU during the run. Jake Lloyd ended the Blue Jays' run with his goal at the 5:52-mark in the third quarter. But the Jays came right back with goals from sophomore Matt Fraser, Beal and Gillette to extend their lead to seven. Lloyd once again answered for the Gaels, but just like that the Blue Jays responded, scoring three straight and four of the next five to push out to a 17-8 lead with 5:04 to play. The teams were even the rest of the way and Hopkins would take the 20-11 win.
Beal, Froomer, Gillette and freshman Conor Hehir each tallied a hat trick to lead the Blue Jays, while Beal also chipped in three assists for a team-high six points. Yee and senior co-captain Wes Hopkins each handed out a pair of assists and Hehir drew four ejections. Junior Erik Henrikson made three saves in the cage to earn the win. Lloyd led the Gaels with a game-high eight goals in the loss.
The nine-goal margin of victory is the largest in the series since Hopkins beat Iona, 14-4, on September 23, 1995. Hopkins was scheduled to face host and 13th-ranked Princeton at 3:30 pm and 18th-ranked Brown at 7:15 pm. But the remainder of Saturday's schedule was cancelled due to lightning. A revised schedule for the remainder of the tournament will be posted later today.
