NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Iona College women’s soccer program honored their five seniors, and fell in a hard-fought double overtime battle against Quinnipiac, 3-4.
Sophomores led the Gaels attack throughout the game, with Charlotte Stuart scoring twice and registering an assist, and Marisa Bentley added in a score and a pair of helpers as well. For the Bobcats, freshman Nadya Gill had three goals, including the winner in double overtime. The other score for the visiting Bobcats came from senior defenseman Nicole Eriksen.
The first score came in the 17th minute when Gill got a pass from teammates Amanda Barroca and Jess Fontaine; she was able to finish in close, scuttling it by Senior Taylor Rice. Iona was able to knot it up before the closing of the opening half with Bentley’s strike at 39:44. Stuart fed a long through ball onto the foot of the charging freshman, who pushed it past the chagrining Quinnipiac goalie, Natalie Grodzki.
The second half saw a flood of action, beginning right off the bat in the 47th minute with Gill’s second goal of the contest. The score would remain in the Bobcats favor for twenty minutes; that is until Stuart scored two goals in a combined 66-second stretch.
At 65:31, Junior Emily Hansen and Bentley fed Stuart for her first tally; she had established herself in the box, getting position on her defender, and making the most of her spot on the field. The second in the quick strike stretch was once again a Bentley/Stuart connection. Bentley fired a shot from just inside the box that got over Grodzki and struck the crossbar. As the ball bounced on the ground, Stuart was there to clean up the mess, and put Iona up 3-2.
The Bobcats attacked with desperation in the final moments, and their fiery offensive mindset paid off with the game-tying goal in the 89th minute. Eriksen headed in the overtime-forcing goal of an assist from freshman defenseman Sarahkate Norton.
Looking at the stats through regulation, Iona had been outshot 29 to seven, and the senior goalkeeping tandem of Rice, Lauren Ferris were forced to make thirteen saves. In addition, the Maroon & Gold had to fend off eleven corner kick chances.
The winning strike in overtime was the hat-trick securer for Gill. The freshman pushed Quinnipiac’s conference record to .500 with an upper-ninety strike from the left side, rising it over the outstretched hands of Ferris. Assists on the game-winning goals came from junior Jess Fontaine and freshman Jess Cascio.
Along with Rice and Ferris, seniors Alex Chinich, Kim Marra, and Kara Maguire were honored before the game.
Iona’s final game will be against the Manhattan Jaspers on Wednesday, Oct. 28 in Riverdale, NY.