NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to Iona on the road Saturday at Mazzella Field. With the victory, the Gaels improve to 3-4-1 on the season, while the Knights fall to 5-3-0 overall.

FDU, who was not playing at 100 percent, found itself down very early into the match after Iona took a 1-0 lead eight minutes in on a goal by Franklin Castellanos.

But in the 25th minute, junior Manny Calixto came up with the equalizer, as he found the back of the net after a feed from freshman Christian Dietrich. The goal was the first of the season for Calixto.

Just over one minute later, the Gaels went back on top with a 2-1 advantage after Jannick Martens scored in traffic off a rebound.

Over the first 45 minutes, Iona held a 5-4 advantage in shots, and the Knights pulled starting goalkeeper Jacob Lissek (one save) in favor of sophomore Aleksandar Djekic for the second half.

Despite holding an 8-5 advantage in shots in the second half, FDU could not find the back of the net, as four of its shots were on goal. Early in the 70th minute, Iona put the game away on Ignacio Maganto's goal to give the home team a 3-1 lead with 20 minutes left in the contest.

The Knights managed only two shots the rest of the way and have now lost three of their last four.

Djekic made one save in his first appearance of the season, while Gaels' goalkeeper Julian Petrello was forced to make a save on three different occasions. FDU led in shots, 12-10, and in corner kicks, 5-1.

The Knights will have a quick turnaround when they host No. 9 St. John's at University Stadium on Oct. 1 for a 7 p.m. contest.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

Men's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

TeamRank Presented By TeamSnap - Boys