The Iona College women’s soccer team started off their season on the road against the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights.

In the 39th minute of the game freshman midfielder Connie Lewis gave the Knights a 1-0 lead, scoring her first collegiate goal past Iona senior goalie Trista Rivera. FDU took a 1-0 lead into half time after out-shooting the Gaels 6-0.

The Maroon & Gold picked up the intensity in the second half and out-shot the Knights 4-0, but were unable to find the back of the net. In the 54th minute junior forward Safi Ayinde took a shot on target, but the Knights senior goalkeeper Sage DoVale made a save.

Rivera had three saves in the loss, and DoVale had one save. After the defeat the Gaels remained on the road to take on the Towson Tigers.

The Tigers applied heavy pressure on the Gaels early in the game, out-shooting Iona 7-1 however, the halftime score was a 0-0 tie.

Towson took their first half momentum into the second half and continued on the attack. In the 50th minute senior forward Emily Banes headed the ball into the back of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later Banes scored her second goal of the game to put Towson in front 2-0.

In the 64th minute, Bane laid the ball off to junior midfielder Katie Ponce who one-timed it into the top corner to help give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The Gaels were unable to get on the scoreboard and suffered their second defeat of the year.

Iona was back in action Thursday Aug. 29 for its first home game of the season against the Hartford University Hawks.

In the 25th minute, senior forward Arielle Aikens gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead after firing a shot into the bottom left corner just past the reach of Rivera. The Hawks went into the half with a 1-0 lead out-shooting the Gaels 6-2.

Senior forward Nicole Paulucci took the Gaels’ only shot in the second half and made it count. Freshman forward Erika Flowers passed the ball to Paulucci, who one-timed it into the bottom right corner for her first goal of the year to tie the game 1-1.

Paulucci was excited about scoring her first goal and dedicated her goal to her two teammates who were injured in the first half.

“It felt great and it felt even better because it was for my teammates that got injured,” Paulucci said.

The Gaels and Hawks continued to battle, but neither were able to find the back of the net, sending the game into overtime. After two overtime periods, the game remained scoreless, ending in a 1-1 draw.

Senior defender Leanne Benson was proud of the team’s overall performance after trailing 1-0.

“We showed how a true family fights for each other. After two of our seniors got hurt, we stepped up even more and fought back from a goal deficit. If we play like we played against Hartford all season, we will be a strong force in the MAAC,” Benson said.

The Maroon & Gold remained at home for their next match-up against the Binghamton University Bearcats. Both the Bearcats and the Gaels were unable to score during regulation sending the game into overtime. Binghamton outshot Iona 13-9 in the first 90 minutes of play.

Just under three minutes into the overtime period, Bearcats freshman forward Stephani Church netted her first collegiate goal to give the Bearcats a 1-0 victory.

Although the Gaels remain winless, they are still optimistic.

“Right now we’re just working out some kinks and playing good soccer,” Rivera said. “If we keep working the way we have been, we’ll be just fine.”

The Gaels will remain at home and take on the University at Albany on Sept. 6 at Mazzella Field.