The Iona lacrosse team split a pair of games last week with a 12-10 road loss on March 2 at Sacred Heart and a 17-10 home win against Central Connecticut on March 5.

Against Sacred Heart, the Gaels were down 8-3 after one half of play and had to make a rally in the second half to have any chance of a comeback.

Freshman Nina Veneziale scored the first goal of the game early on and senior Elizabeth Coholan scored her fourth goal of the season in the first half. Junior Emily Taddei also scored for the Gaels in the opening half.

In the second half, the Gaels came back strong with seven goals on eight shots and ended up with seven different goal scorers during the game.

Sophomore Brittney Mabus scored 1:25 into the second half, and at one point, the Gaels went on a three-goal run to only be down by two.

However, Sacred heart came back with three straight goals and took a 12-7 lead along the way.

Trying to spark a rally, Coholan scored her second goal of the game and fifth of the season. However, the Gaels fell short 12-10 on the road.

Senior Caitlyn Collins led Iona with three points on three assists. Coholan, Veneziale and Mabus notched a pair of goals, while Taddei, junior Casey Scully, freshman Brenna Lade and sophomore Kylie Gregory each picked up a goal.

In net, goalkeeper Maria Ortiz made eight saves for the Gaels.

At Mazzella Field, on March 5 against Central Connecticut, the Gaels were able to rally back from a couple of tough losses and earn their first win of the season. Veneziale led the offensive charge with a perfect six goals on six shots.

Collins found an open Gregory in only the third minute of play to open up the scoring. Next, Veneziale began her scoring day, coming back with a goal a couple of minutes later.

 After the Gaels jumped to a 2-0 start, the teams traded goals that would lead to a 7-6 lead for the Gaels.

Central Connecticut came out very strong in the second half, taking over the lead at 9-8. However, Iona came back with a run of their own that lasted for seven straight goals.

Gregory notched three goals during the run, as Veneziale and Coholan added a pair respectively. The Gaels dominated the second half scoring ten of the last 12 goals of the game.

Gregory tallied four goals with an assist, along with one ground ball and one caused turnover during the win.

Coholan, Taddei and Lade each had a pair of goals for the victory. Collins led the way in the assist department with four and freshman Bridget Sickles also earned her first career assist with 1:31 left in the game.

Ortiz made six saves as Iona led 30-19 in shot attempts.

The Gaels will be at home to take on Columbia University at Mazzella Field. The maroon and gold will look to build on their strong offense to get on an early season roll.

Iona is a young but favored team in the MAAC conference. The teams ability to dominate on both ends of the field should soon be on display.