Nov. 12, 2010
Box Score
Siena's historic 2010 men's soccer season ended Friday night, as the Saints fell to Iona 2-1. Siena ends with a 10-8-1 record, the first time the program has recorded ten wins since 1998.
Early on, Iona (9-8-1) made their gameplan clear. They intended to throw Siena's offensive aggression back in the faces of the Saints, and this was evident in their 19-6 advantage in shots. The Gaels also possessed a 7-3 advantage in corners on the afternoon.
However, Siena struck first in the 23rd minute. Senior Joey Tavernese's flip throw-in found the head of sophomore Jannis Opalka, and the tri-captain's resulting ball ended up on the foot of freshman Matt Hemsley. Hemsley then flicked it into the bottom-left corner of the net, and Siena led 1-0.
The first MAAC semifinal win was not in the cards for the Saints, though. In the 70th minute, Iona's Mario Rios scored his third goal of the season, firing a shot into the top left corner off the outstretched fingertips of Siena's Phil Chabot. Finally, Samuel Adjei scored the golden goal for the Gaels, as his shot from the left side of the box dropped in off the crossbar behind Chabot. At this time, Siena was playing with a man down.
Chabot finished with six saves, including a stop of a first-half penalty shot.
Iona moves on to Sunday's MAAC title game, which will also feature the winner of Friday's game between top-seeded Saint Peter's and fourth-seeded Loyola.
