NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona College men’s soccer team picked up their first win of the 2015-16 season Wednesday night, beating the Stony Brook Seawolves, 3-1. A strong second half, both offensively and defensively, propelled the Gaels to a victory in their home opener.
The Maroon & Gold played catch up in the opening 45 minutes. Stony Brook found the back of the net first when freshman Serge Gamwanya scored on a one-time redirect shot from roughly ten yards out. The assist on the lone Seawolves goal came from senior Alejandro Fritz.
The Gaels would rebound quickly after. Off a scrum in front of the Stony Brook net, sophomore Joshua Calderon was able to poke it past the Seawolves defense for the equalizer. It was Calderon’s first goal this season.
The score remained deadlocked at one goal apiece heading into halftime, with the opening portion of the match being evenly matched. Each squad mustered five shots and forced the opposing goalie to make a save. The parallels would come to an end when the teams took to the field for the second half.
Iona’s second half control began in early on, putting Stony Brook on their heels with quick pressure. The hard work paid off with the Gaels second goal of the game coming in the 62nd minute. Off assists from freshman Daniel Huerta and junior Jordan Scarlett, sophomore Brendan Reardon was able to slip a low shot into goal.
The Gaels added to their momentum just moments later in the 65th minute; sophomore Marcos Nunez put the Maroon and Gold up two with his second goal this season. Huerta found sophomore Luis Mendonza, who then lightly flicked a touch pass to Nunez, leading to the third goal for Iona.
The Gaels defense was stifling in the second half, allowing Stony Brook to only take one shot the entire second half. In the end, Iona outshot the Seawolves 12 to 6.
The Maroon and Gold next take to the pitch on Saturday (Sep. 12) in Philadelphia, PA., at Drexel.