POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.—In the final seconds of the game, the Red Foxes secured their first win of the season this afternoon in a nail-biter against Binghamton.
“The attitude was great, we’re really proud of the guys for fighting and chipping away, even when it hasn’t been pretty in the first four contests,” Head Coach Keegan Wilkinson said. “But the guys were ready to go.”
With this win Marist goes to 1-4 on the season. With a four-game road stretch ahead, this big win could not have come at a more ideal time. Marist fought hard, controlling the tempo with their man defense and slow possession play.
“It was awesome to see the guys come out and finish the game,” Wilkinson said. “Even when they got those two late, we really buckled down, got a huge stop at the end, so credit to the guys for digging their heels in and getting a big stop at the end of the game.”
The Red Foxes started the game hot, scoring first with a goal by recently-injured Joe Tierney. Binghamton Senior midfielder Stephen Petrelli answered with two goals, putting Binghamton up by one.
Marist sophomore attackman Jon Constant concluded the quarter with a goal of his own, tying the game at two. A goal apiece would send the game into half time at three-all.
“We came in at halftime it was a tight 3-3 game, we knew Binghamton was going to make adjustments so our offense made some [adjustments] too,” said Senior goalie and captain Brian Corrigan. He would finish the day with 9 saves.
Tierney’s second goal of the day and Sophomore Michael Smith finding the net gave Marist a 5-3 lead at the start of the half. Binghamton’s attackman Thomas McAndrews responded seconds later with a goal of his own.
The two continued to trade goals late into the fourth quarter, when Binghamton scored two quick goals to make it an 8-7 game with just two minutes remaining. Marist’s defense held strong for the remainder of the game, putting a stop to Binghamton’s offense and notching their first win of the season.
With conference play starting in a few weeks and a tough stretch of road games ahead, this win marks a new direction for Marist’s season; one they hope to continue against Drexel next week.
“The attitude is great, but it’s certainly not one where these guys are complacent or anything like that,” Wilkinson said. “We have high standards here and the guys understand that, so one win is not going to change the entire attitude in the locker room. At the end of the day we are 1-4, we understand that and we know that Drexel is going to be a huge task next week.”