The Iona men’s soccer team strung together their first winning streak of the season.

On Sept. 6, the Gaels were able to shut out and defeat Harvard (3-0) en route to their first victory of the season.

Senior Samuel Adjei was able to dribble and shoot past Harvard goalkeeper Brett Conrad after a pass from Junior Ignacio Maganto for the first goal of the game.

Maganto scored the second goal of the game by staying composed after a cross from senior Franklin Castellanos and beating Conrad as he passed the ball into the goal.

He also led the team with points as he scored one goal and had two assists. With this one field performance, Maganto was honored the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Offensive Player of the Week.

Castellanos scored the Gaels’ third and final goal as he shot the ball into the goal after receiving a cross from Maganto.

It was a great victory for the Gaels as they rolled into their home opener against Albany.

On Sept. 9, a large Gael crowd surrounded Mazzella Field as they witnessed their team defeat Albany 2-0 to earn their first home win of the season.

The Gaels were an overmatch for Albany. They maintained possession for most of the game.

They capped off the game outshooting Albany 15-12 (10-3 in the first half).

In the 27th minute, the Gaels were awarded a corner kick. Maganto sent in a high cross, senior defender Michael Hodgen got around his defender and headed the ball in the back of the net to give Iona a 1-0 lead.

In the 76th minute, Castellanos delivered a pass across the box that trickled off of Albany’s defenders.

Adjei was able to back-heel the ball in the back of the net to give Iona a 2-0 lead.

On Sept. 14; the Gaels two-game winning streak was snapped by the Columbia University Lions on the road.

The Lions struck first in the 13th minute. Senior David Najem gave the Lions a 1-0 lead after scoring off of a rebound.

The Maroon & Gold quickly fought back and in the 17th minute were awarded a penalty kick.

Castellanos converted the penalty kicked and knotted the game up 1-1, scoring his third goal of the season.

In the 62nd minute, sophomore Antonio Matarazzo scored his first goal of the season to give the Lions a 2-1 lead.

Matarazzo‘s goal turned out to be the decisive goal to grant the Lions their first win of the season.

Iona will be back in action Sept 21 against Hartwick in Oneonta, N.Y.