Defense Shines In Iona Men Soccer's Win

November 28, 2018

NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The defense ratcheted up for the Iona Men's Soccer team in a 1-0 win against Quinnipiac on Wednesday afternoon. The Gaels allowed just two shots on goal and handed the Bobcats their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference loss of the season.

GAME SUMMARY

The Maroon & Gold did not allow a shot from Quinnipiac until the 23' when Matthew Taylor had an attempt blocked. The Gaels had three off-target shots that all took place between the 8' and 11'.

The first fantastic scoring chance of the game came in the 32'. Senior forward Killian Colombie had a shot from point-blank range, inside six yards, that was robbed by Quinnipiac's keeper Jared Mazzola. He dove to his right and momentarily kept Iona off the board.

Colombie earned a third chance to score in the game in the 34'. With 33:34 off the block, sophomore Najim Romero drew a foul just inside the 18-yards box that resulted in a penalty kick chance. Head Coach James Hamilton made the call to put Colombie on the dot and it resulted in the game-winning strike.

A tsunami of commotion happened between the 54' and 60'. Rookie Mauro Bravo had a shot that went high to begin the barrage, and soon after it was a monster of a squandered opportunity for the Gaels. Iona had a two-on-none break that resulted in junior defender Malcolm Moreno missing-aiming a shot high.

Sophomore Giuliano Santucci came up massive for the Gaels after the missed score chance. He made both of his saves in a 120 second span, halting shots from Salah Oumorou and Romain Daniellou.

The final 30 minutes of the match swayed more toward the Maroon & Gold. Rookie Esad Mackic, sophomore Tomas Jamett and senior Rory Head had shots that were saved by Mazzola.

NOTEABLE NUMBERS

Wednesday was Iona's first shutout win since Tuesday, Aug. 28 against Binghamton when the Gaels earned a 1-0 win in overtime. Junior Juan Alcantara had three saves in that victory.
Colombie had a team-best five goals and retook the points lead with 11.
Wednesday's penalty kick conversion was the first of Colombie's career. It is Iona's first since Sept. 13, 2016 when Oscar Gonzalez converted against the Stony Brook Seawolves on the road.
Iona had a 0.077 shot on goal percentage against the Bobcats, its lowest since Sept. 1 against La Salle (0.071).
The Maroon & Gold tied a season-high with four yellow cards in the match.
Quinnipiac's two shots on goal is tied for an Iona opponent-low this season. The other team to record just two shots on target was Canisius on Sept. 29.
Iona has now registered at least one points in each of its last six home matches. The only time it didn't was in its home-opener against La Salle (Sept. 1).

UP NEXT

Iona battles against MAAC leading Manhattan at Gaelic Park on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 PM.

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