After a 0-2 start to the season, the Gaels are looking to turn the tides on their season.
The team played the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at home on Feb. 10.
Lehigh jumped ahead early with two goals and closed the opening quarter on a three-goal run for a 6–2 lead over the Iona Gaels. Iona answered with goals by Franco Caputo and Cullen Lawry, and Lawry added two more in the second quarter to keep the deficit at four at halftime. After a Jimmy Kennedy man-up goal in the third, Lehigh erupted for six straight to pull away. Iona added two goals, but Lehigh prevailed in regulation. The final results of the game ended in a final score of 16-7, in favor of Lehigh.
Then, the team went on the road to face the sixth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Iona Gaels scored twice early through Luke Neary and rookie Cale Stielau, but the North Carolina Tar Heels answered with six straight and never trailed. Kyle Hardie briefly stopped the run before another Tar Heel surge pushed the halftime margin to 12–4 after Carson Turissini’s late goal. North Carolina dominated the third quarter, scoring nine of ten total goals in the quarter. Jimmy Kennedy had Iona’s lone third-period goal, while Neary added another and James Greenhut also scored late. The loss showed North Carolina’s depth and relentless transition attack. The game ended with a final score of 23-7, in favor of the Tar Heels.
Next, the Gaels faced off against Bucknell University at home on Mazzella Field.
The Bucknell Bison scored three times in the opening quarter before the Iona Gaels responded early in the second. Jack Martinez and Lawry scored to pull Iona within one at 3–2. Bucknell answered with two straight goals, but Martinez and Carson Turissini connected again late to make it 5–3 at halftime. The Bison took control in the third quarter with six consecutive goals to build an 11–3 lead. Matthew Dyszkiewicz scored for Iona late in the third, but Bucknell added another to lead 12–4 entering the fourth. Iona showed late momentum with four goals in the final period.Lawry, Dyszkiewicz, Turissini, and Kyle Hardie all found the net to close the contest. The final of the game saw the Gaels lose, 16-8.
Finally, the Gaels once again played at home, this time against the Long Island University Sharks.
The Sharks jumped out to a fast start, building a 4–0 lead after one quarter and extending the margin to 8–3 at halftime against the Iona Gaels. Kennedy stopped LIU’s early five-goal run with a second-quarter goal, and Martinez followed less than a minute later to cut the deficit to 5–2. After the Sharks pushed the lead to 7–2, Lawry added Iona’s third goal of the half at the 4:10 mark. LIU controlled the third quarter by scoring five of the six goals to take a commanding 13–4 advantage.Kennedy recorded Iona’s lone goal of the third on a man-up opportunity.The Gaels found their rhythm in the fourth, outscoring LIU 6–3. Lawry, Hardie, Turissini, Dyszkiewicz and two late goals from Martinez highlighted the late surge, including Martinez’s first collegiate hat trick.
