NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona University men's soccer team won its MAAC Championship quarterfinal match against Mount St. Mary's in shutout fashion, earning a 3-0 on Sunday afternoon. The Maroon & Gold advance to the semifinals and take on no. 5 seed Marist on Thursday, November 14.
The Gaels tallied two first half goals before adding the finishing touch in the second half in the victory win over the Mountaineers. The Gaels opened the scoring with a goal from sophomore
Jad Benjelloun then five minutes later a goal from senior
Thiago Cagna. Cagna also assisted the first goal with senior
Ricardo Senen Pinillos, while the second goal was assisted by freshman
Bautista Rossi. The second half goal was scored by Rossi and assisted by Cagna. This was Cagna's third multiple assist game of the season. Rossi has scored in three straight games for the Gaels. On the defensive side, junior goalie
Loukas Georgiou in his third straight start picked up his second clean sheet in a row.
MATCH SUMMARY
The first half started off with each side attempting to control possession and find passing lanes to open up chances at the goal. Neither side managed much success in the first 20 minutes of play.
At this point, the Gaels started to take control of the game and find success in both their counterattack and on the end line and earned six corner attempts in the opening 30 minutes.
The breakthrough came in the 31st minute when Senen Pinillos sent a cross in and found the foot of Cagna who passed it across the box and Benjelloun chipped it into the back of the net to go up 1-0. Benjelloun's second goal of the year and Senen Pinillos's fourth assist.
Five minutes later, Rossi pushed down the left side and sent in a cross to Cagna who took one dribble before sending it to the right corner and extending the Gaels lead to 2-0 heading into the break. This was Cagna's second goal of his season and eighth of his Iona career.
Coming out of the break, the Gaels continued their strong attack and sophomore
Francesco Borla had an early attempt that required a fantastic save from the Mount keeper Julian Marcos to hold the lead at just two.
In the 63rd minute, Georgiou too made a stunning save to maintain his clean sheet and continue his fantastic run of form over his last three matches. He made three saves on the day and looked very comfortable in his first taste of postseason play.
Come the 85th minute, the Gaels had control of the game, but Cagna sent a long ball to the foot of Rossi and he took one touch before smashing his sixth goal of the year. Cagna added his second assist of the day and brought his team leading total to nine on the year. The Gaels saw the game out the rest of the way to book a spot in the MAAC semifinals for a third consecutive year.
TEAM STATS
- The Gaels held a 15-11 advantage on shots for the game with a 9-3 total for shots on goal.
- Georgiou and Iona made three saves while Mount made six.
- The Gaels led the Mountaineers with an 13-3 margin on corner kicks for the game.
Around the Maac
- #5 Marist upset #4 Quinnipiac, 2-1
- #3 Siena held off #6 Manhattan, 2-1 at home
- #2 Rider survived an overtime thriller against #7 Sacred Heart, 1-0
Up Next
The Gaels will host Marist in the MAAC Semifinal round on Thursday, November 14th with a 1 p.m. start at Mazzella Field.
