NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona University men's soccer team is Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship bound after a 1-0 shut-out victory over rival, Manhattan on Thursday afternoon. The Gaels will host the MAAC Championship for the first time at Mazzella Field and will welcome Rider for a noon kick-off on Sunday, November 12.

The Maroon & Gold improve to 12-3 overall and improve their home winning streak to 10 games, the second longest active home winning streak in the nation. Sunday will be the second straight trip to the MAAC Championship for the Gaels and the fifth appearance all-time in the league's title game.

THE RUNDOWN

The Gaels got off to their usual quick offensive pressure, firing three early shots by graduate student Camil Azzam Ruiz and seniors Aly Camara and Elird Mero that missed off target in the early minutes.

Iona picked up a free kick opportunity early in the 18th minute as Azzam Ruiz went for a loose ball and got hit by the Manhattan defender. That set up junior Tim Timchenko to take the free kick from 20-yards out. The center-back fired in the shot on goal that was stopped by keeper Danny DiMarco, but he failed to collect the ball clean allowing junior Thiago Cagna to fire home the rebound shot for the 1-0 advantage.

Manhattan looked to answer on a long free kick just a few minutes later as Gunnar Studenhofft sent in a header from eight-yards out but was denied by junior Nacho Alfaro Monge.

Play began to get physical between the two rival schools as the game progressed as seven yellow cards were issued and a pair of red cards on Studenhofft and Mero late in the second half.

Iona's league leading defense held Manhattan to just three shot attempts in the second half to clinch the 1-0 victory and trip to the MAAC Championship game.

GOALIE/TEAM STATS

The shut-out was the Maroon & Gold's fifth clean sheet of the season and Alfaro Monge's fourth of the year and the 11th in his career. DiMarco registered four saves in goal for the Jaspers. Iona held a 15-9 advantage on shots for the game with a 5-1 advantage for shots on goal.

AROUND THE MAAC

The three-seeded Rider (11-3-4, 6-2-2), picked up a 2-0 victory over the two-seeded Siena (8-9-0, 8-2) in Loudonville to advance to the MAAC Title game. Zaki Alibou and Momo Diop tallied goals 50 seconds apart for the early 2-0 advantage in the 37th minute. Adam Salama recorded four stops in the second half to earn the shutout. The Broncs have been the league's hottest team, rolling into Sunday's title game on a six-game winning streak. Rider will play in the MAAC Championship for the ninth time, and have won four titles with the last coming back in 2018.

UP NEXT

The Gaels host the MAAC men's soccer championship game for the first time at Mazzella Field on Sunday, November 12 at noon. The title game will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Student tickets are free for all Iona students (student ID required to be shown on entry). All other tickets can be purchased online or through HomeTown Ticketing at the ticket table.