NEW YORK, NY — The Iona College men’s soccer program fell to Duke Saturday night by a 2-1 score. The Gaels now stand 0-2-1 on the year.
The Gaels struck first when freshman Daniel Huerta scored his first goal of the season in the 17th minute.
The Blue Devils knotted the score at one apiece in the 27th minute with a header by Jeremy Ebobisse, assisted by Zach Mathers.
The score remained tied heading into the half. The Maroon and Gold net minder Julian Petrello had six saves in the opening forty-five minutes to keep the Gaels in it.
The teams remained tied for the opening 20 minutes of the second half until Duke broke the deadlock. Mathers added his second assist of the game, finding a teammate off a corner opportunity. Tyler Hilliard scored the second, and game-clinching goal for the Blue Devils in the 68th minute.
The second half had an inordinate amount of corner attempts; The Gaels had 6 attempts, and Duke had 10 of their own.
Overall, Duke outshot Iona 19 to 7, and had 13 more shots on goal.
Petrello had 13 saves in the contest.
Iona returns to the pitch for their home opener on Thursday, Sep. 9. Stony Brook will be visiting New Rochelle, NY, game time set for 4:30 pm.