NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona University men's soccer team defeated George Washington, 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon to conclude the non-conference portion of the 2024 schedule. The Gaels had contributions from six different student-athletes on the way to a new season-high scoring effort at Mazzella Field. 

Sophomore Bruno Rivera, junior Alem Kolenovic and freshman Alvaro Maneiro all scored their first career goals for the Maroon & Gold in the win. Senior Thiago Cagna scored his first goal of the season and dished out two assists for the second time in his career. Graduate student Elird Mero dished out a career high two assists and freshman Emilio Rossi recorded his first career assist on the final Iona goal. 

GAME SUMMARY

The Gaels started this game with energy and dominated the possession battle in the first half 61%-39%. They controlled the ball in the midfield and were able to guide passes into and around the box with ease, but struggled to sneak one past Revolutionaries goalkeeper Tom Macauley in the first 40 minutes.
 
Iona finally capitalized in the 43rd minute as Cagna sent in a strong cross in front of the goal. Rivera was ready to deflect the bouncing ball into the back of the net. It was the Gaels fifth shot on goal in the half and gave the team a 1-0 lead going into the halftime break.
 
George Washington was ready to come out firing after the break, but still was unable to break past senior Michael Hesse, who made a big stop three minutes into the restart. Iona's strong defense also were able to take pressure off of Hesse, by blocking a shot then forcing the rebound to go wide and maintain the 1-0 lead a few minutes later.
 
Finally in the 70th minute the Gaels offense struck again. Mero sent in a cross to the box that got deflected right to a wide open Cagna. The senior midfielder rifled the ball to the far right corner past the diving keeper to go up 2-0. 
 
Play resumed and the Gaels immediately went on the attack again as sophomore Jaheim Campbell sent in a strike from just inside the box, but his shot missed wide left. Then the George Washington attack found its spark in the 73rd minute as some smart touches and precision passing. That led to Will Turner's pass through the box to a wide open Louis Crofts to slot the point-blank shot in the back of the net, and just like that the Gaels lead was cut in half.

The Maroon & Gold did not let that stop them, as the game entered the late stages. In the 80th minute, Cagna again charging down field passed it off to Kolenovic at the top of the box to sneak the shot right under the keeper and extend the lead back to two with 10 minutes left to play.

The defense remained focused on stopping any attempt for George Washington to mount an attack. The final tally of the game came in the 87th minute as Rossi played the ball out wide to Mero who saw Manerio start to sneak in behind the back line. Mero sent a perfect through ball right to Maneiro to find the back right corner to bring the final score to 4-1. Iona closed out non-conference play 2-3-2 and will enjoy a 10-day break before starting Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

TEAM STATS

• Iona held a 19-12 shot advantage for the game with a huge 10-4 advantage for shots on goal.
• Both teams attempted five corner kicks each.
• The Gaels, at the hands of Hesse had three saves. While the Revolutionaries and Macauley recorded six saves.

UP NEXT

The Gaels enjoy a small reset before beginning the MAAC schedule on Saturday, September 28 with a rematch of last year's MAAC Championship against Rider. Kick-off is scheduled for noon at Mazzella Field.