As the season proceeds, the Iona College women’s soccer team has surprised their fan base multiple times. After a long series of defeats, they showed their Gael strength in their last three games.

The Gaels defeated defending MAAC Champion Siena at Mazzella Field in an overtime thriller. Sophomore Nicole Paulucci came up big and scored her second goal of the game to break a 1-1 tie in overtime.

The next match against Fairfield was a total success. The score was 1-0 when the referee blew the whistle to announce the end of the game. It was a scoreless game until the 85th minute when senior Kerrie Deignan brought back the victory for the Gaels. Also, Trista Rivera, known for her play as a strong goalkeeper, saved five shots.

“We knew that Fairfield was talented and that to give ourselves the best chance we were going to have to defend well and then take advantage of our opportunities,” said Coach Mike Barroqueiro.

Although the team showed its strong side against Fairfield, they had to relive another defeat against St. Peter’s, a 2-0 loss.

“The win against Fairfield was big for our program. We feel like we have played well throughout the season but to finally be able to go out and get back to back results against good teams like Siena and Fairfield was a huge confidence boost,” Barroqueiro said.

This confidence boost was probably too high for the Gaels as they lost focus on their previous weak games, which reasoned their low level of attention in their game against St. Peter’s. Barroqueiro shared this opinion. He said, “I think going into the match we were probably still a bit too high from our Fairfield match”.

Nevertheless, the young Gaels proved that they knew how to open up to their full potential the next game and this attitude resulted in a second victory against Manhattan College by a score of 2-1. Sophomore Carly Haden scored her first collegiate goal in the 105th minute in overtime to lead the Gaels to another 2-1 overtime win. Freshman Melissa Frederick and junior Laura Jackson were also stars in this game.

Barroqueiro is very proud of his team and the  progress he has seen.

“I was pleased with the effort we brought to the game and although I think we could have executed a bit better at certain points in the match, there’s definitely something to be said for being able to rebound as a group and get a much needed result,” Barroqueiro said.

These were the kind of matches Iona College has waited for, and it shows that one can be proud to be Gael.

 Having the strength to achieve such high scores, even after heartbreaking defeats, exemplifies what Iona stands for.

Will the team progress even further?

As the season closes, the Iona community is certainly excited to see what this team has as they climb in the standings. Coach Barroqueiro is confident that the team will continue to deliver. He said, “I won’t say I’m satisfied until we accomplish that goal and I think our team is hungrier now more than