NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's soccer team dropped its 2012 home opener 1-0 to UC Riverside Sunday afternoon at Mazzella Field.  The Gaels were done in on a goal by Riverside's Ruben Valencia in the 59th minute.

 

The game's lone goal came after Valencia outran the Iona defense, and off an entry feed from teammate Ivan Garcia, struck a shot past Iona goalkeeper Borja Barbero.

 

It was a game of two halves, as the Gaels were the aggressors offensively in the first, outshooting their west coast opponents by a margin of 5-3.  The Highlanders held a 6-4 shots advantage in the second, including five of the half's first six shots.

 

Sophomore midfielder Ignacio Maganto led the Gaels with three shots, including a first half header that just sailed high of the net.  Junior midfielder Franklin Castellanos and senior forward Ansger Otto each had two shots apiece.

 

UC Riverside held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks in the match.  Barbero (1-1) made two saves for the Gaels, while Ashkan Khosravi (2-0) had five saves for UC Riverside.

 

The Gaels look to get back on track Friday evening, when they travel to West Point to take on Army.