UC Riverside Spoils Gaels' Home Opener

by John Higgins
August 26, 2012

 

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.
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