Spring fever was in the air at Tenney Stadium and two teams came out to win on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. The Marist Red Foxes were coming off of an overtime win against Niagara, in which senior Hailey Wagner recorded her 500th career draw win. The Siena Saints were seeking a win after falling to Fairfield recently, 11-12. However, the Saints are currently having one of their best seasons, sitting at 9-6 overall, and 5-2 in conference play. This made for an interesting matchup resulting in Siena outscoring the Red Foxes 18-10.
The game began with none other than a draw win for the Red Foxes, thanks to Wagner. However, Marist could not put anything in the cage after two possessions. Siena could not find the cage on their first possession either due to a pass intercepted by Marist goalie Delanely Galvin.
Later on, Siena had the first goal of the game by junior midfielder Annie Brennan. However, the Red Foxes quickly answered back. After another draw win by Marist, sophomore attack Devon Connolly fired one in to put Marist on the board. Soon after, senior midfielder Audrey Cerrone tallied another goal for the Red Foxes. Yet, the Saints quickly answered with another goal from Brennan. This brought the score to 2-2, indicating that this would be a tight race to hold a lead.
Both teams fought hard to keep the score close. Siena was also giving Marist a fight for the draw wins. Junior attack Samantha Mehalick found the back of the net to tally another goal for Marist. But the Saints tallied on four more goals, without an answer from the Red Foxes, giving Siena the lead 6-3.
With 10 minutes left in the half, the Red Foxes were trying to make up for the goals they lost. After a scoring lull for Marist, Wagner found sophomore attack Kelly George, who put one in the cage. Cerrone also added another goal for the Red Foxes. However, the Saints had majority possession of the ball during this first half, going on to tally three more goals.
After few attempts at the goal, Marist could not find the net in the final minutes of the first half. Siena had made their presence known on the field, taking the first half 9-5.
The second half began with a draw win by Marsit, and a few minutes later, Mehalick put a goal away. Soon after, Wagner fired in a goal, making the score 7-9. The Red Foxes were looking to make up for the first half and get back in the game.
However, the Saints were unwilling to give up their lead without a fight. Siena saw five unanswered goals, including the first hat trick of the game by Dowsett.
Mehalick broke the Siena streak by putting one into the net for the Red Foxes. This was the second hat trick of the game. Immediately after, junior midfielder Jana Rothman of Marist found the cage. Siena soon answered with another goal by Gerety, making the score 15-9 Siena, with 10 minutes left to play.
In the final minutes of the game, both teams were fighting for possession in order to rack up more goals. Siena saw two more goals from Dowsett, making it five goals for her on the day. Marist answered back with another goal from Mehalick. But ultimately, the Saints had the final say in the game with a stinging goal with seconds remaining. Despite the Red Foxes best efforts, they fell to the Saints, 18-10.
“So I think that today we came out flat honestly,” said Marist Head Coach Jess Wilkinson.
“I don’t think there was a lot of positives to take away from the game. If anything, Wagner did a great job on the draw,” she said. “But at the same time, it is not enough to win a game against Siena, who is having a really great season.”
The Red Foxes are looking to win their next matchup against Iona on Saturday April 20. “Two games a week with the MAAC schedule. So we need to make sure we get back to it tomorrow,” Wilkinson said. “We have to focus on our next opponent on Saturday. We have Iona and we have to make sure that we are ready for that road game.”
Edited by Meaghan Roche
Header photo by Shannon Tierney