The Marist women’s soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Quinnipiac in the Quarterfinals of the MAAC tournament on Sunday afternoon. The seventh-seeded Red Foxes were unable to get over their offensive and road woes in their loss to second-seeded Quinnipiac.
In the first half, both defenses made timely plays. Quinnipiac maintained the majority of the possession, and they produced a quality chance in the 10th minute when sophomore forward Rebecca Cooke fired a shot that forced a diving save from Marist senior goalkeeper Natalie Kelchner. The dependable goalie added another save on a through ball in the 19th minute.
Marist did take advantage of their possession as they produced some quality chances in the first half. In the 20th minute, sophomore midfielder Amanda Caldarelli fired a shot that forced Quinnipiac sophomore goalkeeper Sofia Lospinoso to punch it over the crossbar. Four minutes later, senior forward Victoria Colatosti forced another save from Lospinoso on a shot to the far post.
The biggest moment of the first half was in the 36th minute when Marist graduate student defender Britt Van Lenten committed a handball inside the box. The referee gave Van Lenten a yellow card and awarded Quinnipiac a penalty kick.
Kelchner used different body movements and her voice to throw off Quinnipiac senior midfielder Selena Salas who fired her penalty shot wide of the net. Kelchner’s actions played a part in Salas’s penalty miss. Both teams headed into the locker room scoreless at the half.
Quinnipiac took control of the game in the second half, and they held the possession for the majority of the half. They were producing quality chances, and the Marist defense was fighting to remain tied. Kelchner continued to make an impact in the second half as she was catching crosses and not making any mistakes. Kelchner finished the game with seven saves.
The Quinnipiac offense finally broke through the Marist defense in the 66th minute when Salas played a free-kick into the box, which found the head of senior forward Gretchen Kron. Kron outran her defender and placed a powerful header over the head of Kelchner.
The goal was deflating to the Marist defense as they had played their hearts out. Following the goal, the Marist offense continued to struggle as they were unable to truly test the Quinnipiac defense. Marist freshmen forward Christina Layden had a header that was saved by Lospinoso in the 79th minute and Colatosti had a shot saved in the 85th. The Red Foxes were unable to find an equalizer and Quinnipiac prevailed.
Marist finishes the first full season under Head Coach Brittany Kolmel 5-7-3 and 4-4-2 in MAAC play, and they say goodbye to ten seniors.
Edited by Jonathan Kinane
Photo from Bridget Reilly