Syracuse, N.Y. - The Le Moyne College women's soccer team earned it's first victory of the season in a 3-2 win over Iona University.



"We are very happy for our players and very proud of our group for today's performance," said head coach Jaro Zawislan. "We came back from a deficit twice in the game, and ended up scoring the winning goal. This shows the individual and group character, resilience, and drive to earn a result from every game."

The Dolphins would make two changes to their starting lineup against Iona, which saw a return to the lineup for junior midfielder Lindsey LeBlanc (West Minister, Mass./St. Bernard's) and a debut in the starting XI for graduate student Jenicah Brown (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland/Cazenovia).

The Gaels would score the first goal of the game in the 6th minute of action after earning a penalty for a handball in the box. Sophomore midfielder Marissa Graziano stepped up and slotted the penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the goal.

The Dolphins however held their heads high and came firing right back, as senior midfielder Danielle Casey (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) earned two shots just off target in the ensuing minutes.

Le Moyne would find their answer in the 14th minute of action, as sophomore midfielder Kyla Sustad (Willet, N.Y./Cincinnatus/Merrimack) played a cross into the box that was deflected back out wide. Sustad headed the ball back into the box which was met by LeBlanc and freshman midfielder Sara Ullman (Washington, D.C./Bethesda-Chevy Chase), glancing a header over the outstretched arms of the Iona keeper and finding the back of the net.

The two teams would continue to battle throughout the first half, until the Gaels found their 2nd goal of the game in the 41st minute of action. Freshman midfielder Aiyanna Robles Sedano played a ball out wide to sophomore forward Lauren Sonski, who hit a first time ball into the box that met the left foot of junior midfielder Krystal Haertter, placing her first timed strike into the top corner of the net to give Iona a 2-1 lead.

The Dolphins and Gaels resumed play in the same fashion as the 1st half, with both teams battling back and forth with neither able to gain an edge on the other. Freshman goalkeeper Simone Schwarz-Eise (Scottsdale, A.Z./Averill Park) played a big role for the 'Phins, pulling out two saves keeping Le Moyne in the game.

It wasn't until the 75th minute of action that Le Moyne would find the goal they were seeking. Junior defender Jasmina Barhoumi (Worms, Germany/Nelly-Sachs-IGS/D'Youville), who has found a new role in the Dolphin midfield, played a curling ball over the back line of the Gaels defense into the stride of Casey, who was 1v1 against the keeper. Keeping her composure, Casey finessed the ball into the back of the net off with a left footed strike, that brought the Dolphins back to a 2-2 game.

The momentum of the game would change with just over eleven minutes of action left in the game, as sophomore Kelsey Landers saw a straight red card for an elbow to the head of a Le Moyne player, in which was deemed to be "Violent Behavior I" by the referee. The Gaels would have to finish out the game with just ten players.

Le Moyne would finally have their shining moment in the 85th minute of the game, as freshman right back Mallory Pietrzak (Rochester, N.Y./Penfield) played another curling ball over the back line of the Iona defense. Casey, who was kept onside by the outside back of the Gaels, found herself 1v1 against the keeper yet again. Similarly to the first goal, Casey kept her composure, taking a touch and blasting the ball into the top left corner, giving Le Moyne their first lead of the game.

The Dolphins held their defensive shape for the remaining four minutes of play, and eventually saw what would be their first win of the season.

"In our program, the game is never over and the result is never out of reach," said Zawislan. "You keep playing to get back into the game, and when you have your chances you have to take them, which we did. We will enjoy the win today, and tomorrow preparation starts for our next match against Temple on Thursday."

The Dolphins are scheduled to host Temple University this Thursday at 3:00 P.M. on Ted Grant Field.