BUFFALO, NY – Three unanswered, second-half goals for the Iona College men's soccer team helped them extend its unbeaten streak to eight matches. Eimantas Lotuzys scored the game-winning goal for the Gaels and Josh Plimpton's score eight minutes later gave the Maroon & Gold a solid cushion.

MATCH SUMMARY

The first half was controlled almost entirely by the Gaels, though Canisius was able to take advantage of one miscue and take a one-goal lead into the half.
 
Josh Plimpton started the match off with a shot towards net in the opening minute, but it sailed out right. The two sides then traded shots back and forth for the next 13 minutes of play, forcing starting goalies Gabriel Cinanni and Fabio D'errico to make a couple of stops each.
 
D'errico made his third save, redirecting a Francesc Chulia shot and helping the Golden Griffs transition to offense. A minute later, Canisius' Troy Brady scored on an assist from Manuele Cavazzoli to put Iona in a 1-0 hole in the first half. 
 
Esad Mackic put a shot on goal almost immediately following the kickoff after the goal, but was stopped by the keeper. The Gael offense couldn't muster another shot for over 15 minutes, it was off-target, and they didn't test D'errico for the rest of the half. Canisius led 1-0 at the end of the opening 45 minutes of action. 
 
The Gaels really started testing the Golden Griff goalkeeper in the 57^th minute. In a matter of just 50 seconds, Mauro Bravo and Mackic sent quality tries towards the tender that he diverted. Then, in the 59^th minute, Bravo got some help from a Canisius defender; his left-foot strike glanced off of a body inside the box and allowed the ball to sail past the flat-footed D'errico and tie the match.
 
Iona held strong in Canisius' half of the field and pressure from junior Josh Plimpton led to a red card being issued to Canisius' Matthew Spangler. A slide tackle near the boundary led to contact initiated by Spangler that the official deemed unnecessary and handed Spangler an early trip to the locker room. The Gaels would play with a man-up advantage for the final 28-plus minutes of the match.
 
Iona had already been dominating possession, but the numerical advantage on the pitch allowed them to really pressure the Canisius back line. Freshman Jon Paul Fernandez nearly found the go-ahead score in the 70^th minute, but his blast from the end line went across the box and deflected off the inside of the far post. 
 
Later, in the 75^th minute, D'errico stopped the initial shot attempt from Mackic, but he could not stop the rebound that came out towards Lotuzys as he fed it into the cage for the eventual game-deciding goal.
 
The Maroon & Gold held off a strong push from the Golden Griffs that spanned nearly two minutes after the go-ahead score. As they then transitioned towards offense, a perfect cross from Mackic set up Plimpton wide-open in front of the cage for an insurance goal. The comfortable two-goal lead would help Iona cruise across the final few minutes for another victory in conference play.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Iona's unbeaten streak has now reached eight straight matches. The last time the Maroon & Gold had such a streak was 2009 when they were undefeated in 10 consecutive contests.
• Bravo netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season to open the scoring for the Gaels. His 16 points also lead the unit.
• Lotuzys' score was the game-winner. Both of the rookie's goals this season have been the one that decided the match.
• Mackic now has six assists on the year; the sophomore has recorded multiple-assist games twice and in both of those matches was responsible for both of Iona's goals.
• Iona was without senior Malcolm Moreno, marking the first time the defender has missed a match since October of 2018.
• Cinanni improved to 4-0-1 in net this season for the Maroon & Gold. The sophomore keeper has faced 49 shots, allowing just four goals through more than 371 minutes.
• The Gaels tallied three goals for the fourth time this season.
• Iona has not allowed more than one goal over the course of its last five contests. They've outscored opponents 9-3 in that span.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will remain away from home as they travel to face Saint Peter's this Saturday in a match that could be a battle for first place in the conference. The match will begin at 2 PM and will be streamed on the Peacocks Digital Network.

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