After a poor initial season, going 2-13 and 1-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the Gaels men’s lacrosse team are looking to have an even better sophomore season. With more experience under their belt, the Gaels should be able to achieve that.

However, through their first two games, the Gaels have kept up their lack of momentum from last season.
The Gaels started their season against Hofstra University at home on the Mazzella Field, which resulted in a loss with a final score of 14-7. At halftime, Hofstra was only leading 6–5. But after halftime, Hofstra took control of the game. They scored five goals in a row in the third quarter, and Iona struggled to find momentum as Hofstra dominated in the third and fourth quarters.

However, there still were some notable highlights on Iona’s side. Carson Turissini scored his first college goal for Iona late in the third. Luke Neary made his debut, putting up two goals after redshirting the season prior. Another player with a spectacular performance was sophomore Iona goalie Denny Piekutowski, who finished the game with 12 saves.

Iona’s first road game of the year was on Feb. 6 against Navy. This game had a brutal outcome, with a final score of 7-17. Early in the game, Jimmy Kennedy and Franco Caputo tied the game at 2–2, giving the Gaels hope. But, Iona was quiet in the second and third quarters, not able to produce any goals, which really cost them due to Navy scoring consistently as they scored three quick goals to take the lead. After that, Navy took over the game. They scored nine straight goals in the second and third quarters. Navy also scored again at the start of the fourth quarter, which sealed the game away.

For the Gaels, Neary scored late in the first quarter for Iona, and Turissini scored right before the quarter ended to keep Iona close. A key player to keep an eye out for was Alec Gregorek, who contributed tremendously by adding four goals as the top scorer for Navy, which made the game out of reach for Iona and helped put the game away.

It’s still extremely early in the season, so the Gaels still have time to turn things around. The Gaels continue their season on the road at North Carolina on Feb. 15, followed by games at home against Bucknell, Long Island University, and Stony Brook on Feb. 17, Feb. 21 and Feb. 24 respectfully.