NEW YORK, N.Y. The Gannon men's water polo team dropped a pair of matches on Sunday afternoon with a 12-11 loss to Iona and an 11-9 loss to Fordham, with both matches played at Fordham University.

Gannon was unable to hold on to an early 6-1 lead against Iona, as the Gaels would out-score the Golden Knights 5-2 in the second quarter and 4-2 in the third to even the score at 10 heading into the fourth. Iona would score twice, while Gannon managed only one goal to earn the 12-11 victory.

The Golden Knights were led by a pair of freshmen as Daisuke Takagi (Tsukuba, Japan / Namiki) scored four times and Gio Martino (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / St. Thomas Aquinas) scored three times.

Goalkeeper Neal Zoellick (Homewood, Ill. / Homewood-Flossmoor) had eight blocks in the match.

Later in the day, Gannon faced Fordham University, dropping its second match of the day by an 11-9 score. The Rams jumped ahead early, out-scoring Gannon 4-1 in the first quarter and 2-1 in the second. The Golden Knights held advantages in the third (4-3) and fourth (3-2) quarters, but were unable to erase the Fordham lead.

Greg Naranjo (Coral Springs, Fla. / Stoneman Douglas) scored four times in the match while Rob Bullion (Tonawanda, N.Y. / Kenmore East) added two goals. Zoellick added six blocks in the losing effort.

Gannon is now 8-8 this season and will next compete at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championships on November 5-7 in Annapolis, Md.

Gannon Men's Water Polo Boxscore
vs. Iona
Sunday, October 24, 2010

Team (1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - Final)
Gannon (6 – 2 – 2 – 1 - 11)
Iona (1 – 5 – 4 – 2 - 12)

Gannon Goals (11)
Daisuke Takagi (4)
Gio Martino (3)
Tommy Nimrod (2)
Phil Myrick (1)
Stephen Espinet (1)

Iona Goals (12)
Unavailable

Gannon Goalkeepers
Neal Zoellick (8)

Gannon Men's Water Polo Boxscore
vs. Fordham
Sunday, October 24, 2010

Team (1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - Final)
Gannon (1 – 1 – 4 – 3 - 9)
Fordham (4 – 2 – 3 – 2 - 11)

Gannon Goals (9)
Greg Naranjo (4)
Rob Bullion (2)
Gio Martino (1)
Phil Myrick (1)
Daisuke Takagi (1)

Fordham Goals (11)
Unavailable

Gannon Goalkeepers
Neal Zoellick (6)