Riverdale, NY (November 5, 2004)- Iona's Pasquale Abiuso tallied two goals and an assist as the visiting Gaels downed Manhattan, 4-0, today at Gaelic Park. Manhattan falls to 3-13-0, 1-7-0 in MAAC play, while Iona raises its record to 5-12-0, 2-6-0 in MAAC play.
The early part of the game saw the two team's feeling eachother out, as neither team mounted a serious scoring threat. It seemed as if the game would go to the break scoreless before Abiuso put the ball to the top corner off a restart from 18 yards out with 30 seconds to go before the half to give Iona all the scoring it would need.
Abiuso doubled the Gael lead at the 62:10 mark. Abdulla Begai sent a cross across the goalmouth that Paul Racines redirected on goal, but Manhattan keeper Michael Sheehan punched the ball away, but right to the head of Abiuso, who finished the play for his second marker of the day.
Just under ten minutes later, Racines and Sebastian Garcia-Lopez hooked up on a give and go in the Jasper penalty area, with Garcia-Lopez completing the play for a 3-0 Iona lead.
Begai added an insurance goal late in the game when Abiuso put a well placed pass to the middle of the area, where Begai put the ball past Sheehan.
Amir Haghenas made two saves for his first shutout of the season, while Sheehan made four saves in his first start of the year. Iona held a 15-7 edge in shots for the match.
The Jaspers conclude their season on Sunday, November 7, when they host Fairfield for a MAAC contest slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. A short senior day ceremony will precede the match as Manhattan honors its lone senior, Michael Sheehan.