NEW ROCHELLE, NY- The Iona College lacrosse team suffered an 8-7 defeat in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at the hands of the Monmouth Hawks. With the loss, the Gaels finish the season at 7-10 overall, and 2-5 in conference play.
The Maroon & Gold were lead by sophomore Erin Pugh, who scored three more goals, bringing her season total to 48, which is good for the best mark in the MAAC. Junior Anna Kelly tallied two goals, and senior captain Meghan Testoni and sophomore Rachelle Serafini scored one goal a piece. Senior goalkeeper Blaire Nathanson recorded nine saves in the loss.
With the regular season coming to a close, Pugh found herself at the top of the MAAC in goals with 48. Junior Mary Kate McCormick was second in the conference in assists with 31, which is a program record.
Iona quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Serafini’s goal 2:36 into the first half. Monmouth scored two unanswered goals to take a 2-1 lead with 21:37 to play in the half. Iona went on a 4-1 scoring run on goals by Pugh, Testoni, and Kelly to take a 5-3 lead. Monmouth scored two goals in the final 22 seconds of the half to knot the score at five as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
The Hawks opened the second half on a 3-0 scoring run to open up an 8-5 lead with 14:02 remaining in the game. Three minutes later, Kelly netted her second of the contest to bring the Gaels within two. With 16 ticks remaining in the game, Pugh scored her third goal of the game to bring the Gaels within a goal of overtime. Monmouth won the ensuing draw to run out the clock and secure the victory.
The Gaels finish the season with a 7-10 record, and a 2-5 record in conference play. The seven wins for Iona are five more than they had in 2014.
