Riverdale, NY - The Iona men's soccer team was defeated by MAAC rival Manhattan 3-1 this morning. The Gaels now move to 4-6-4 overall with a 1-3-1 conference record.
Manhattan got on the board first, scoring at the 24:32 mark. Justin
Schultz fed fellow senior Mike Barbuto, who found Tony Safran just inside
the area. Safran blasted a shot past Iona goalkeeper Nils Binstock to give the Jaspers a 1-0 lead.
The Jaspers would carry that lead into halftime, holding a 10-2 advantage in
shots in the opening stanza.
The Gaels would even the score at 1-1 at the 62:11 mark, when Giovanni
Destasio took a pass from Tom Orbacz and found the back of the net.
Just over seven minutes later, Manhattan would regain the lead for good. On
a restart, Bryan Knight served the ball into the area, but the ball
caromed off the head of a Gael into the net for an own goal, giving the
Jaspers a 2-1 lead at the 69:57 mark.
Manhattan would add an insurance goal with just under a minute to play as Rolston fed to a streaking Gannon, who received the ball behind the Iona back line and calmly deposited the ball into the back of the net for his first
collegiate goal.
Binstock recorded five saves for the Maroon & Gold, while Orbacz picked up his first assist.
The Gaels return to action on Friday, Oct. 15 as they host Rider at 3:00 pm.
