NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's soccer team completed a historic regular season with a 2-0 victory over Manhattan in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at Mazzella Field. The Gaels earned a program record 15th overall victory and a No. 2 seed in next weekend's MAAC Championship in Lake Buena Vista, FL.
The Gaels scored twice early in the contest and held on for the win over the Jaspers. Senior
Adam Rohan netted his second goal of the year in the 15th minute to put the home team on the scoreboard. Rohan raised high inside the box to head sophomore
Franklin Castellanos' corner kick into the back of the net. Rohan helped Iona to its sixth straight win on Senior Day in New Rochelle and bookended his goal scoring effort on the season as his other tally came in the season opener at Hofstra.
Nine and a half minutes later, sophomore
Samuel Adjei gave Iona a two goal cushion. Adjei made a smooth sliding play on a through ball from Castellanos and beat Manhattan keeper George Ellis for his sixth goal of the season. Junior
Alvaro Torrecilla set up the play to earn and second assist. Castellanos extended his NCAA lead with his 13th and 14th assists of the season.
Rookie netminder
Borja Barbero had little trouble holding Manhattan off the board in the first 45 minutes as he didn't face a shot. The Gaels took a 9-0 advantage in the department in the frame.
Though each squad had its opportunities in the second half, both teams ran a clean sheet. Junior GK
Michael Jordan had three saves and faced seven shots. For the game, Ellis stopped 10 attempts as the Gaels took a 20-7 shot advantage for the game.
Prior to the game, head coach
Fernando Barboto honored Rohan and fellow senior
Scott Aceto for their four years in Maroon & Gold. With 49 total wins since 2008, no other class in program history recorded more . Iona has featured 10 or more victories in three of the last four seasons including its top two outputs this year (15 wins) and 2009 (14).
Iona will await its Friday (Nov. 4) opponent in the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Championship as it will face No. 7 Saint Peter's or No. 10 Siena at 11:15 am. The game can be seen nationwide on ESPN3.com.
