NEW ROCHELLE, NY—Iona, ranked second in the latest NSCAA Division I North Atlantic region men's soccer poll, broke a scoreless tie on a penalty kick in the 65th minute on the way to a 3-0 win over visiting NJIT Wednesday afternoon.

The Gaels, who are among the teams listed as “Also Receiving Votes” in the national poll, are now 6-1-2, with three straight wins and five straight unbeaten games. Their only loss was 2-0 against Rhode Island on September 11 in a tournament hosted by Dartmouth.

Senior Giovanni Destasio picked up his seventh and eighth goals of the season, including the penalty kick that broke a scoreless tie at 64:14. Destasio struck again at 67:45, with assists by Alvaro Torrecilla and Fernando Liserra and then Torrecilla wrapped things up with his first goal of the season, unassisted, in the 82nd minute.

NJIT goalkeeper Ryan Sutherland recorded 10 saves, while his Iona counterpart, Nils Bostock, made four saves in picking up his fifth shutout of the season.

The box score showed Iona with a 23-11 advantage in total shots, including 13-4 in shots on goal. The Gales also had five corner kicks to two for the Highlanders.

Bostock, a senior, has not allowed a goal in nearly 258 minutes. Before NJIT, he shut out Sacred Heart and his only goal allowed in a 2-1 win over Drexel came in the 13th minute of that game.

Destasio was fouled at the edge of the penalty area to set up his own penalty kick, which he fired into the right corner of the goal. “It was a close call,” said NJIT coach Pedro Lopes. “If he was inside the line, it was no more than a foot inside. It was one of those plays where I couldn't argue, but I don't think Iona would have argued if it was called outside of the box, either.

“I thought we played pretty well until the first goal, but our guys put their heads down a bit because they had played well up to that point and then fell behind. And (Iona) got the second goal quickly. The pk was definitely the deciding factor.”

Down 2-0 with more than 20 minutes left, NJIT worked to get back into contention, but was burned on a counterattack for Iona's third goal. “We were pushing forward and they countered well and got a good shot,” said Lopes. “There was nothing anyone could do to stop it.”

Lopes credited Iona. “They're a blue collar team that is disciplined and works hard,” said Lopes. “They defend well and live off the other team's mistakes and they did that today.”

The NJIT coach mentioned fifth-year senior Scott Rietze and newcomer Nathan D'Aversa as bright spots.

Rietze, a captain who missed all of 2008 due to an injury, also missed this season's first five games and most of the sixth before coming on as a sub. He has started the last four games and is back in his familiar spot in the middle of the defense. D'Aversa has played in all 10 games, starting nine so far in his first season as a Highlander.

The Highlanders will return home for their next two contests starting with a Sunday 2 pm matchup with Long Island University on Lubetkin Field at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium.

There is added interest with the LIU game in consideration of the return to NJIT of Blackbirds' veteran coach TJ Kostecky, who led the Highlanders from 1988 to 1993.