NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Lafayette women's soccer team fell to Iona 2-1 on Thursday at Mazzella Field.

In the 38^th minute, Lafayette junior Kaia Deane threaded a pass through multiple Iona defenders and connected with sophomore Anna Garcia, who only had the Iona keeper to beat. Garcia rocketed a shot into the upper left corner of the goal, giving the Leopards a 1-0 lead. This was the first career goal for the Wilmington, Del. native.

In the second half, with 28 minutes left in the match, Iona evened the score on a shot by Faith Preziosi that was assisted by Samantha Hogan and Victoria Mule. In the 82^nd minute, Iona's Kedarjah Lewis sent a shot to the high right corner of the goal, propelling the Gales to a 2-1 lead with just eight minutes left to play.

Lafayette outpaced Iona in shots, totaling 10 shots versus eight by Iona. The Leopards also had more shots on goal than the Gales, with six to Iona's four. Haley Pursel, Lucy McShane and Ani Khachadourian all had two shots, with Khachadourian and McShane's being on goal. Garcia, Lauren Cunningham, Sara Oswald and Gretchen Waechter took one shot each, all of those on goal, and Garcia's shot resulted in the lone Lafayette goal.  

Lafayette senior goalkeeper Natalie Neumann played the first 45 minutes in goal, and was replaced by junior Lindsay Dewar for the second half. Dewar recorded two saves.

The Leopards will be on the road again on Sunday to battle NJIT in Newark, N.J. at noon.