STONY BROOK, NY - The Iona College women's soccer team scored twice in the second half to open the 2009 season with a 2-0 road win at Stony Brook.  The Gaels did not allow the Seawolves to score in the game and picked up their first shutout of the year.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Mahoney made seven saves, five of which came in the second half, for her second career shutout.  Marisa Viola had six saves in the net for host Stony Brook.

"I thought we played very well in the first 10 or 15 minutes, then Stony Brook picked up the play and put some pressure on us," said head coach Eric Teepe. "We made some adjustments at halftime and came out really strong in the second half.  We got chance after chance and had two go in.  We probably could have had a couple more, but this was a great start to the season for us."

After a scoreless opening half, the Maroon & Gold broke through with back-to-back goals three and a half minutes apart.  Sophomore Kerrie Deignan and senior Mariel Pepe earned their first goals of 2009, with Julia Zorn and Diane Hare getting the respective assists.  On both goals, the passer hit a through ball to the scorer, who got behind the opponent's defense and kicked a shot into the lower left corner past Viola.

"We came out in the second half and dominated overall," added Pepe.  "We played well as a team and this was the first step toward many more wins for us in the future."

Iona continues a five-game road set with an evening contest at Long Island on Aug. 28.