NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's soccer team lost 1-0 in double overtime to Saint Peter's on Saturday afternoon at Mazzella Field. Prior to the match, Iona head coach
James Hamilton and his staff honored the program's seven seniors.
Iona dominated possession early and often, generating nearly all of the offensive chances early and throughout the entire match. Things started with a Lenworth Lopez shot that Herman Wulff handled, barely moving off of his line. Tomas Jamett and Alessio Hernandez had shots that missed wide of the cage and Camil Azzam Ruiz had a try saved by Wulff.
That accounted for all of the first half action, outside of a corner in the final minute that the Gaels could not generate a shot from. The match remained scoreless as the two sides entered the second half.
Saint Peter's had just two shots in the opening 45 minutes, neither of which forced Juan Alfaro Monge to make a save. He once again was not forced to make a stop in the second half, in fact, Iona did not allow the opposition to register a shot. The Maroon & Gold had seven shots in half number two, but Wulff's replacement in net, Guillem Badenes Mecho made three saves.
The match needed overtime to decide things in New Rochelle. Iona once again dominated possession and offensive chances, limiting the Peacocks to no shots for the entire extra period. Azzam Ruiz was stopped by Badenes Mecho, while Edu Calvo-Salinas watched a late shot travel wide of the net.
The second overtime period saw Saint Peter's first shot since the 32nd minute of the match, which was just its third of the match and first on goal. Unfortunately for the Gaels, this shot found the back of the net after Matt Hoyt had a free run towards goal, guiding a pass by Alfaro Monge that Conlan Paventi pushed home for the game winner.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- For the third consecutive time and the fourth time in the last five meetings, the Gaels and the Peacocks needed overtime to settle the score. Iona is 1-1-2 in the last five meetings decided in overtime against Saint Peter's.
- Iona outshot Saint Peter's 17-3 and held a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. The Gaels also finished with a 8-4 advantage in corner kicks.
- Azzam Ruiz finished as the shot leader, amassing five shots, four of which were on target. Esad Mackic and Lopez had the other shots on goal for Iona.
- Alfaro Monge, Azzam Ruiz, Calvo-Salinas, Federico Russo and Tim Timchenko all played the entire 107+ minutes of the match. Saint Peter's used just two substitutes, seeing nine different players play the full match.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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