RIVERDALE, NY — The Iona College men’s soccer team clinched the second seed in the 2014 MAAC Championship with a 3-1 victory over Manhattan Wednesday evening at Gaelic Park in its regular season finale.
Senior Ignacio Maganto led the Gaels with a goal and an assist. Freshman Marcos Nunez and sophomore Jordan Scarlett were responsible for the other Iona tallies.
The Gaels jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on Nunez’s third goal of the season. Nunez connected on a rebound off a shot by teammate Michael Holzer to push Iona ahead by one.
Just before half, Maganto scored his 11th goal of the season in the 45th minute. Off a cross from sophomore Teddy Forson, Maganto finished with a twirl near post.
Less than three minutes into the second half, the Maroon & Gold extended its lead to three on Scarlett’s first of the year. Scarlett headed in a corner kick from Maganto for his third career tally.
Manhattan registered a goal in the 74th minute, when Eugene Heerschap found the net for the third time this season.
Iona outshot the Jaspers 11-9 in the game, with Maganto registering a game high five attempts. Sophomore goalkeeper Julian Petrello made seven saves for the Maroon & Gold, while Alex Coates McDowall recorded one stop for Manhattan.
As the number two seed, the Gaels will take on the highest remaining seed in the semifinals on Nov. 14 at Quinnipiac following the quarterfinals on Nov. 8.