RIVERDALE, NY — The Iona University men's soccer team concluded the 2023 regular season with a 2-0 shut-out victory over rival, Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon.The Maroon & Gold finish the regular season with an 11-3 overall record and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season champions boast a 9-1 mark in league play.

Senior goalkeeper Azal Dottin registered two saves in his first career shut-out win. Senior Aly Camara registered his league leading fifth game winning goal with the first goal of the contest. Graduate student Camil Azzam Ruiz capped the game off with his 14th goal of the season with 28 seconds remaining in the game.

THE RUNDOWN

A slow opening opening half between both teams as Iona started the game off with a shot by Mateo Sarmiento Cely in the 10th minute. The Jaspers would record five shots over the final 35 minutes of action but missed off target.

The Gaels had a free kick opportunity in the 47th minute as freshman Genti Dauti sent the shot to the lower left quadrant but a diving stop from the Jaspers keeper Danny DiMarco denied the scoring chance.

Iona broke open the scoring in the 56th minute as Jaime Roman Jr. sent a long pass to a charging Camara who took a dribble and fired the shot through the legs of DiMarco for the 1-0 lead.

Manhattan looked to tie the game in the 63rd minute as Gunnar Studenhofft had a breakaway chance. Dottin denied his shot from 12-yards out with a spectacular diving stop towards the left of the goal.

With the Jaspers still looking for the equalizer, Dottin picked up his second save of the game in the 69th minute.

As the clock winded down to the final minute of play, Manhattan had a free-kick chance from the Iona zone with 48 second to go. The cross was stopped by the Gaels defense as graduate student Matias Morales picked up the loose ball. He found a wide open Azzam Ruiz who dribbled nearly 60-yards and tucked the shot into the back of the net with 28 second left.

GOALIE/TEAM STATS

Dottin registered his first career win and shut-out in goal for the Gaels with his two-save afternoon. DiMarco recorded four saves for Manhattan. The Jaspers had a slight edge on shots for the afternoon at 11-9 while Iona held a 9-2 advantage for shots on target.

AROUND THE MAAC

Iona (9-1) finish the regular season with 27 points for the number one seed. Siena (8-2) picks up the two-seed with a 3-0 win over Marist (4-4-2). The Jaspers (6-4-1) finish with 19 points. Niagara secured a 3-1 win over Mount to keep their playoff hopes alive. Two night contests close out the regular season docket for the league as Rider (5-2-2) hosts Saint Peter's (1-5-3) and Quinnipiac (1-4-4) travels to Fairfield (2-6-1).

UP NEXT

The Gaels return to to action for the MAAC Semifinals on Thursday (November 9) at Mazzella Field. Opponent and kick-off time will finalize after the conclusion of the MAAC Opening Round on Sunday (November 5).