Pirates Fight Iona to Scoreless Draw in Home Opener

Friday, August 28

South Orange, N.J.

12 p.m.

Seton Hall University

1-1-1, 0-0-0

Iona

1-0-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Iona	0	0	0
Seton Hall	0	0	0

Pirates Fight Iona to Scoreless Draw in Home Opener

8/28/2026 8:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Aided by a strong home debut from goalie Devin Armstrong, the Seton Hall men's soccer team (1-1-1) fought the Iona Gaels (1-0-1) to a scoreless draw in the team's 2026 home opener at Owen T. Carroll Field.

The Pirates struggled in the opening stages of the first half, but began to find their way as the half went on. While many explosive chances fell short, the Pirates earned a penalty kick in the final minutes of the opening half and looked to take the lead. Unfortunately, the Pirates were unable to convert the chance into a goal after the ball rattled off the crossbar. Both sides chased the ball in the second half, but neither side could break the stalemate, ending the match in a scoreless draw.

With the draw, the Pirates move to 1-1-1 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In their home opener, the Pirates nearly made an early statement on a second-minute corner kick. Despite a strong strike from Til Kauschke and a forceful header from Milomir Cvoric, Iona's netminder saved the early chance. Following that opportunity, the Pirates sat unable to hold possession heading into the hydration break, weathering three attacking chances by the Gaels, as well as a corner kick.

After the hydration break, following a flurry of substitutes, the Pirates' offense began to find counters to Iona's possession-based style. Joaquin Brizuela found himself with a premier chance in the box with no one around him in the 40^th minute. However, after sending a header towards goal, the ball once again found the gloves of the Gaels' diving netminder, stifling the The Hall's attack once again. Yet, the opening half had one more twist in store for Seton Hall. After an Iona handball in the box with less than two minutes remaining on the clock, Kauschke stepped to the penalty spot looking to take the lead. Despite sending the keeper the wrong way, the junior's kick bounced off the crossbar before being cleared away, eventually sending the match to the break stuck in a scoreless draw.

Out of halftime, the Pirates nearly took the lead inside the first minute when Mikkel Lejbowicz floated a ball towards the goal. Yet despite the keeper being out of position, the ball floated just outside the post and out of bounds.

After quashing multiple attacking opportunties in the first half with his sterling goalkeeping, Devin Armstrong faced multiple chances in the early stages of the second half. The graduate student added another save to his growing tally in the 54^th minute after another Iona attack, before facing two more shots in quick succession that went out of bounds.

While both goalies held strong, the two sides continued to search for the deciding goal. Both coaches began searching deep down their benches, knowing one player with fresh legs could make all the difference in that crucial moment. Despite two high-quality shots in the last ten minutes, the Pirates could not break the draw. But nor could the Gaels, and the two sides settled for a scoreless draw as the final whistle sounded in South Orange.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Armstrong logged his first clean sheet of the season.
- He also notched at least five saves for the third straight game.
Seton Hall was outshot by Iona 11-to-10.
The Pirates had eight corners to the Gael's three.

NEWS & NOTES

With the draw, Seton Hall moves to 1-1-1.
The all-time series between the two programs is now 3-1-1 in favor of The Hall.

UP NEXT
The Pirates will hit the road to face the rival Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday, September 4, at Yurack Field in Piscataway, N.J. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on BigTen+.