Continuing a four-game road trip and taking on its first ranked opponent of the 2021 season, Siena Water Polo (0-3) battled #24 Iona (2-0) to the end at the Hynes Center Pool on Saturday afternoon. The Saints fell, 11-8, to their MAAC rivals in the first of two scheduled meetings between the teams this season.
 
The Gaels got on the board first in the match and held a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, with senior Kristen Burger and junior Georgia Vargas getting on the board in the opening period for the Saints. Iona held a 6-3 lead at the half, with sophomore Grace Boeve netting the lone Siena goal in the second quarter.
 
The Hudsonville, Michigan native scored two of the first three goals in the third quarter to secure a hat trick on the day, while classmate Lily Graham found the back of the net with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter to bring the Saints within a goal at 7-6.
 
Iona's Laura Rockett, who recorded a four-goal day to lead the home team offensively, distanced the Gaels with a score just 20 seconds later, and Iona held on with three more goals to Siena's two in the final period. Vargas ended the game with a pair of scores, while Junior Bianca Prinsloo also netted a goal. Sophomore Anna Mossakowski recorded a season high 11 saves and added a steal in-between-the-pipes during the loss.
 
Siena will wrap up a four-game road trip in search of its first win of the season next weekend, when the Saints head south to the Philadelphia area to face conference foes Villanova and La Salle.