SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Iona University women's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Big East foe, Seton Hall on Thursday night. The Maroon & Gold were held to just two shots on goal while the Pirates fired in four shots on goal on the way to taking the non-conference tilt at Owen T. Carroll Field.
GAME SUMMARY
It was a defensive battle through the first 30 minutes of play as both defenses thwarted any forward progress on the offensive end.
The Pirates finally broke through on a turnover in the 32
nd minute as a shot from 25-yards out and deflected to Adria Kitzinger from five-yards out, a miss hit pass attempting to junior goalkeeper
Savannah Rogers was offline and dribbled into the back of the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
Seton Hall kept pressure from there utilizing another takeaway in the Gaels end that led to a breakaway chance. Kitzinger connected on a well-timed cross from the right side to find Paige Shaughnessy in the center of the box for the header and 2-0 advantage.
Iona finally got its first shot attempt off in the final minute of the opening half as a shot from freshman
Alli Little missed high from 20-yards out. A physical opening half saw 13 fouls between the two teams and just two combined shot attempts.
The Maroon & Gold looked to flip momentum early in the restart, drawing five corner kicks and two shot attempts from graduate student
Sofia Banegas and sophomore
Dolene Smith in the first 11 minutes of action but were unable to convert. Banegas had the best scoring look for Iona in the 62
nd minute with a right footed shot from 30-yards out but was denied by a diving stop from Seton Hall goalkeeper Avery Strohecker.
As Seton Hall started to mount an attack in the 70
th minute of action, sophomore
Kayla Kalbaugh who started the second half came up with the save. The Pirates continued to pressure the Gaels' end and took advantage of another errant pass inside the box in the 74
th minute as Shaughnessy buried the one-on-one opportunity from eight yards out to bring the score to 3-0.
To close out the final 10 minutes, Kalbaugh made a diving stop in the 82
nd minute. Senior
Kendall Infantino sent in the final shot for the Gaels in the 85
th minute but was stopped by Strohhecker.
TEAM STATS
- Seton Hall held a slight 6-5 advantage on shots for the game and a 4-2 margin on shots on goal.
- Iona attempted nine corner kicks while limiting the Pirates to three corners.
UP NEXT
The Gaels conclude the second week of the season with a trip to down to Maryland on Sunday, August 24 for a 1 p.m. matchup at UMBC.
