With only three games left in the regular season, the women’s soccer team had no chance of winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship. However, they were still in the running for a spot in the MAAC Championship Tournament. Heading into the tourney, the Gaels just needed to not lose all three of their games and if luck is on their side, they’ll make the postseason.
With the right amount of luck and winning one of three games, the Gaels were able to make the MAAC Championship Tournament, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. The game that they won to help their efforts was the game they played on Oct. 23 against Mount Saint Mary’s. The Gaels went down 1-0 early in the second half, but they were able to score two goals late in the game. The first came in the 87th minute and off a penalty, when midfielder Marissa Graziano was able to convert the shot to tie up the game. Then two minutes later, forward Payton Foster was able to score off of a corner kick to seal the game for the Gaels, 2-1.
The Gaels would lose the next two games, but the game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Oct. 26 saw the Gaels blow a lead of their own. After forward Dolene Smith scored in the opening minutes of the game, the Gaels would allow two goals in the 35th and 73rd minute to lose the game, 2-1.
Iona would play the rival Manhattan Jaspers on Oct. 30 but would not score a goal in a 3-0 loss to the Jaspers. However, due to a combination of that one win against Mount Saint Mary’s and a win by Siena over Marist, the Gaels clinched the seventh spot in the MAAC Championship Tournament, where they would be matched up with the second-seeded Bobcats. Much like their game against Quinnipiac on Oct. 26, the Gaels were not able to pick up a victory. They weren’t able to score a goal in this game goal, but still lost by a margin of one goal, with the final score being 1-0 instead of 2-1.
Despite the way the season finished, it was one to be excited about for the Gaels. Great performances by underclassmen like sophomores Graziano and Foster, as well as the emergence of freshman goalkeeper Kayla Kalbaugh as Iona’s main option in net, will help set up Iona for future success in both non-conference MAAC conference play.
