NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College women's soccer team won on Saturday to keep its playoff hopes alive as they head into the season-finale next week. Freshman Samantha Hogan scored the only goal of the afternoon as the Gaels shut out the Golden Griffins.

MATCH SUMMARY

The Iona seniors, all playing together on the pitch, put together a clean 10 minutes to open the match. The Iona backline, despite a continuous rotation of new players, played well and allowed the Gael offense to control possession for the majority of the first half. 
 
Canisius' best looks came on some early corner kicks, but the team couldn't manage to direct a shot towards net. The Maroon & Gold made good runs, and despite being called offside a couple of times, created some good chances for their goal scorers. Faith Preziosi ripped off five shots in the first half, missing high on good looks in and around the box. 
 
The Gaels dominated possession of the ball for the rest of the half, but were unable to get anything past Alana Rossi in net. The two sides entered the half in a scoreless tie.
 
A mad scramble in the opening portion of the second half saw Iona squander three great chances for Canisius. The Golden Griffins had their initial shot directed away by a Gael defender guarding the goal line, with the second shot striking the left post and coming out to another attacker who also had her shot stopped by a member of Iona's back line. The ensuing corner kick for the Griffs was snuffed out by Angelina DeCicco and the threat was neutralized.
 
Then, in the 60^th minute, an Amber Crispin run was interrupted by the foot of a Canisius defender, leading to an Iona corner. Kiera Haggerty took the corner for the Gaels, logging the initial assist on the goal that gave the Maroon & Gold a 1-0 lead. It began with an unmarked Kelsie Kearns header that at first, seemed like it would go out of bounds, but Hogan kept it in and from just off of the end-line fired a shot that snuck over the head of Rossi and gave Iona the first lead of the match.
 
With about 15 minutes to play in the match, Kearns made her second huge stop on the goal-line. Margretta Dry's shot found the vacated area of the cage, but Kearns was there to direct away what would have been a goal, keeping the Griffs off the scoreboard.
 
Iona's focus, shifted entirely towards closing out another home win, dropped back and locked down on defense. The Gaels had counter attack chances and looked for insurance, but could find none. Defensively, the Maroon & Gold were sound and they finished the match, keeping hope alive as the season pushes towards a close.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Hogan's goal was her second of the season. The assists for Kearns and Haggerty were their firsts of the year.
• DeCicco notched the first shutout of her career, winning her third match of the season.
• Iona has doubled its win total from a season prior. The team's six wins this year is the most since they won the same amount in 2014.
• The Gaels' three conference wins is the program's best mark since it won six in 2013.
• As a team, the Maroon & Gold made three saves defensively.
• Preziosi logged a match-high seven shots in the afternoon affair.
• The Gaels outshot the Griffs 19-9, holding an 11-5 edge in the second half alone.

UP NEXT

Iona concludes the regular season with a trip to Lawrenceville, New Jersey to take on Rider. As of the final today, the Gaels sit three points behind a three-way tie for the sixth spot in the conference table.

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