NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona College men’s soccer program dropped its fourth straight Saturday afternoon, falling to Hartford at Mazzella Field, 2-0. Sophomore Kellar Sirstins made four saves in net for the Maroon & Gold.
Junior Marcos Nunez had a team-high six shots and sophomore Daniel Huertas collected five. The two combined for seven of Iona’s nine shots on goal.
Hartford scored its first in the 18th minute of the first half. Freshman Alexis Triadis found the back of the net due in large part to fellow freshman’s Gael Kisombe’s lobbed assist. Triadis found the ball at his foot after Kisombe was able to elevate a pass over the back line of the Gaels defense, forcing Sirstins into a one-on-one scenario.
Senior Jeff Tryon scored his second of the season and Hartford’s second of the game in the 58th minute. Triadis took a corner, one of the Hawks’ three in the game, and set up a perfect heading strike for Tyron.
Iona had two very strong chances to score. In the opening ten minutes of the game, seniors Oscar Gonzalez, Jordan Scarlett and Nunez applied heavy pressure to the Hartford defense. Freshman goalie Jimmy Slayton turned away Gonzalez’s shot in the seventh minute, and then the Hawk backline stepped forward and blocked two rockets from Nunez. The barrage of attack ended when Scarlett sent a shot over the crossbar at 8:29.
The Gaels nearly got on the board in the final ten minutes of the game, but Slayton made saves against two Nunez attempts, and one final shot from junior Matias Correa. Slayton finished with nine saves in the contest.
Iona and Hartford each had 15 shots. The Hawks had a 3-2 edge in corner kick chances.
Harvard comes to Mazzella Field on Saturday, Sept. 24 for Iona’s final non-conference contest before beginning MAAC play against Saint Peter’s (Sept. 27).