NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's soccer took down Siena, 3-1, on Wednesday afternoon at Mazzella Field.
Camil Azzam Ruiz scored his league-leading ninth and tenth goals, with a
Lenworth Lopez tally sandwiched in between to push the Gaels past the Saints.
Azzam Ruiz started the scoring for the Gaels in the 12th minute when he received a pass over the top from Edu Calvo-Salinas, directing it with his right foot over the head of the keeper way out off of his line. Calvo-Salinas was fed a pass initially from Ricardo Senen Pinillos, who was credited with the secondary assist on the first goal of the match.
Starting goalie Juan Alfaro Monge made his first stop of the afternoon on an Antonio Linge shot about 10 minutes after Iona's goal. He made a second stop on a Cole Hellert effort in the 33rd minute, but Hellert would get the better of the Costa Rica native eight minutes later. A roller through the box slid past the first Saints attacker, allowing Hellert to bury a right-footed shot and even the score in the final five minutes of the first half.
The second half began with chances from both sides that all sailed wide, missing the target in the early going. Lopez would not miss the target, heading home a bending cross from Inigo Zaballa Gonzalez to give the Maroon & Gold the lead once more in the 62nd minute.
Alfaro Monge was forced to make one more save before Azzam Ruiz found twine again to add some insurance. The junior from Tenerife, Spain weaved his way through the defense inside the box, sticking a shot past Siena's Greg Monroe after touches from Esad Mackic and Lopez. The 73rd minute goal was Azzam Ruiz's second of the afternoon and was all him and his squad needed to upend Siena in a pivotal match inside a neck-and-neck race in the league's table.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Azzam Ruiz's brace is his fourth of the season and his five-point effort is his third of the year. The junior leads the conference in goals (10) and points (23).
- Lopez scored his fourth goal of the 2021 campaign and his goal total and point total (12) is second-best on the team.
- Alfaro Monge improved his record to 3-2 with the victory, bouncing back after a loss at Fairfield last weekend.
- Iona's 12 points as a team in the victory are its second most this season (15 at NJIT) and the most in league play this year.
- Azzam Ruiz, Calvo-Salinas, Lopez, Mackic, Senen Pinillos and Zaballa Gonzalez all tallied assists in the victory.
- The Maroon & Gold have now won five consecutive matches against Siena, outsourcing the Saints 14-2 during that stretch.
- Iona moved into a tie with Fairfield for fourth place in the league with the three-point result from this afternoon. The Stags face Rider tonight at 7:00 p.m., while Marist and Monmouth do battle at the same time this evening.
UP NEXT
Iona heads to Niagara for a 7:00 p.m. tilt with the Purple Eagles on Saturday, October 23.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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