NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona University men's lacrosse team hosted Virginia Military Institute in its second home game of the season. Four different Gaels found the back of the net but VMI's defense stifled the Maroon & Gold, forcing a second half shutout. The Gaels dropped the contest by a score of 19-4. Â
THE Rundown
The Gaels opened the game with a man-up opportunity, but VMI found the back of the net in the third minute, their first of eight in a first quarter that ended 8-2 in favor of the visitors. Freshmen
Jimmy Kennedy and
Vincent Pititto were the first stanza goal scorers for Iona, with the former netting his fifth of the season off a
Jack Martinez assist, and the latter rifling an assist from Kennedy past the keeper in a man-up opportunity.Â
The second quarter saw a continuation of the Keydets' offensive firepower as they netted a total of five second quarter goals. The Gaels posted another two-goal stanza with rookies
Max Monzo and
Matthew Dyszkiewicz netting one solo goal apiece. Â
Out of the half, the visitors stood tall defensively, holding Iona scoreless in the second half. Three goals in both the third and fourth quarter from VMI brought the score to a final of 19-4.Â
IONA PERFORMERS
- Captain Jimmy Kennedy finished the day with two points with both a goal and an assist. The redshirt freshman tallied three shots with a pair of them landing on goal, causing one turnover.
- Vincenzo Gramaglia won the most faceoffs of any player on the field, going 13 of 23 from the faceoff X. The Mullica Hill, New Jersey native totaled four ground balls and fired off one shot.
- Vincent Pititto scored his third career goal, with three of his five shots landing on target. The freshman also grabbed one ground ball.
- Max Monzo tallied a goal for the second game in a row and also fired off five shots, with two of them landing on frame.
- Matthew Dyszkiewicz scored a goal in the first half, taking five shots and finishing with four shots on target.
- Cullen Lawry led the team in shots and ground balls, with seven and six respectively. Â
THE OPPONENT
- Luke Rusterucci had a nine-point outing with five goals and four assists.Â
- Dayton Bagwell tallied six goals and an assist in a day that saw him fire off 10 shots.Â
Up Next
The Gaels are back in action at Stony Brook on Tuesday. The two sides will face off from LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, New York at 4:00 p.m.Â
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