The Canisius College men’s soccer team lost its first MAAC contest of the 2010 season, falling to Iona, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex. Both teams are now 1-1-0 in conference play this season.

After the two squads played to a scoreless draw in the first half, Iona would strike quickly in the second stanza. Samuel Adjei got behind the Canisius defense and Mario Rios fed him the ball. Adjei then beat the Canisius goalie one-on-one, punching it in low and to the right.

Canisius had a number of near misses the remainder of the game to keep the score 1-0. In the 75th minute of play, freshman Justin Montero (Manhattan, N.Y.) lofted the ball over the Iona goaltender but it went just wide. Senior Greg Anne (Rensselaer, N.Y.) then gathered the loose ball and fired a shot toward the net, but a Gael defender was there to prevent it from hitting the back of the net. The Griffs had one final chance in the closing minute when sophomore Casper Rej-Kleczek (Toronto, Ontario) connected on a corner kick, but the Iona goalie was there to make one final stop.

For the game, Canisius outshot the Gaels, 19-10, including a 12-4 edge in the second half. Sophomore Kareem Gray (Gasparillo, Trinidad) recorded two saves for the Griffs, while Iona’s Jesse Fullerton stopped seven shots in the victory.

Canisius continues MAAC play next weekend with a pair of road games. First up for the Griffs is Manhattan on Friday at 4 p.m.