Box Score
Box Score
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's soccer team played Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Iona to a 2-2 draw at Mazzella Field on Wednesday afternoon.
With the tie, the Jaspers move to 3-5-1 in league play, while Iona concludes its MAAC regular season slate at 5-3-2.
Iona struck early to take a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute when Gaels' freshman Daniel Huertas netted his conference-leading ninth goal of the fall. Iona junior Jordan Scarlett had his effort bounce around through traffic in the box before falling to Huertas, who was able to turn and finish.
Manhattan responded by weathering the storm the rest of the half, as the teams entered the break with the score 1-0 Iona.
In the second half, the Jaspers came out firing. In the 54th minute, junior Niels Kirch (Zülpich, Germany / Franken-Gymnasium) tied the score at one. Senior back Abraham Bartoah (New Haven, Conn. / Monroe) put Kirch through on goal, as the forward buried his effort into the lower left corner. The Jaspers continued in their attacking ways and broke the deadlock in the 77th minute. Bartoah received a pass within the box from junior midfielder Timmy O'Driscoll (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. / Lakeland) and finished from close range to put Manhattan on top, 2-1.
The Gaels answered by knotting the score in the 81st minute. Sophomore Luis Mendoza stood over a free kick near midfield. He touched the kick on to Scarlett who played a long ball over the top into the Manhattan penalty area. Freshman Humbert Ferrer was able to get to the ball first and head it in to tie the score at two.
The Jaspers played down a man for the first nine minutes of extra time, as Kirch was issued a red card in the 90th minute. Iona freshman Carlos Bonilla was shown a red card in the 99th minute, causing each side to play the final 11 minutes of the match with ten men.
Manhattan senior goalkeeper Robert Maffei (McLean, Va. / McLean) made a career-high ten saves in the contest.
The Jaspers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 31, when the squad travels to Buffalo, N.Y., for a 7 p.m. meeting with Canisius. The match will mark the final regular season game for both teams, as the 2015 MAAC postseason tournament is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Nov. 5, in Disney.
