VILLANOVA, PA — The Iona University men's soccer team continued its opening road swing on Thursday afternoon with a trip down to Villanova. In a quiet day offensively, the Gaels took an early lead before the Wildcats capitalized on a own goal before a scoreless second half at Higgins Soccer Complex. 

Junior Florian Schutt scored the lone goal for the Maroon & Gold off a corner kick. The ball was bouncing inside the six until Schutt got a piece of it and just got past the goal line. Sophomore Emilio Rossi picked up the primary assist while junior Calle Sjoberg earned a secondary assist on the corner kick.

GAME SUMMARY

Three minutes in, both teams were looking to find their offense with strong attacks on the goal line but were unable to convert. Iona's first recorded shot came in the 10th minute at the hands of graduate student Aitor Jorde, as he took a shot slightly inside the right side of the box, but shot wide left. It was clear early that the Gaels were dominating possession in the first fifteen minutes, but the chances were not quite there as the Wildcats' defense stood strong. 

A foul from the Wildcats in the 21st minute resulted in a free kick for the Gaels. Calle Sjoberg received the opportunity to put the Gaels up but his pass was placed directly at the Wildcats' goalkeeper. On the flip side, Villanova's first chance came on a shot attempt from about five yards out of the 18, but the shot sailed wide left. The Wildcats responded back with a strong attack in the 25th minute, as a strong throw from about 25 yards out was put into the six, but sophomore Fernando Alves Schmelz was there for the Gaels' first save of the game.

Iona had a couple of dangerous attacks in attacks in the latter part of the first half. In the 35th minute, the first chance came from freshman Andres Becerra attacked on the left side and put a shot on goal in their first attempt. In the 38th minute, Sjoberg took a corner for the Gaels and fired the ball inside the six that was bounced high in the air after hitting traffic at the net front. Schutt was able to get a piece of the ball, but was saved by Sebastian Cutler DeJesus behind the white line. After a review from their referees to determine whether the ball crossed the white line, the goal call was upheld to give Iona the 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, while the Gaels were in possession. A sharp pass back towards Schmelz was mishandled and trickled into the back of the net to give the Wildcats the equalizer to knot the score up 1-1 at the half. 

The Wildcats came out strong offensively in the second half,  but the Gaels defense was there to apply steady pressure. The tale of the first and second halves seemed to be flipped, while Iona maintained possession for a majority of the first half, Villanova kept the tempo in the second stanza.

The defense of the Wildcats in the second half caused early problems for the Gaels' offense, who didn't have a clear opportunity on goal in the first 15 minutes of action. In the 61st minute, the Wildcats had their best opportunity of the half as a free kick from Luke Martelli was placed in the middle of the box but the ball was cleared out by the Gaels. The first opportunity for the Gaels came off crisp passes on the attacking side, and after a missed slide tackle from the Wildcats, it left junior Jaime Roman Jr. open on the left side. His shot was saved on the near post by DeJesus.

The Gaels had another look in the 73rd minute to take back the lead as a sliding tackle by the Wildcats resulted in a free kick from just outside the box, but the kick soared high above the crossbar. The Gaels had another opportunity in the 78th minute, Roman delivered a cross into the box from the right side. Jorde was there from five-yards out for the header, but DeJesus made the diving stop to his left. As time was dwindling on the clock, the Gaels looked to capitalize on one more opportunity as Sjoberg placed a ball into the six, but it was blocked and cleared by the Wildcats. 

TEAM STATS

• The Gaels outshot the Wildcats 7-3 in the first half, both teams tallied the same number of shots in the second half with seven aside. 
• The Wildcats were held to two shots on goal.
• The Gaels held the advantage in corner kicks, 4-1. 

UP NEXT

The Gaels make the season debut at Mazzella Field on Tuesday, September 2 at 1:00 p.m. against former conference foe, Monmouth University in the home opener. The matchup kicks off a three-game home stand for the Maroon & Gold.