Marist women’s lacrosse had no answer for Iona’s high powered offense, who put up 24 goals at Tenney Stadium today.
With Iona in a win-and-in scenario for the MAAC playoffs, Marist looked to play spoiler. Eliminated from playoff contention, the Red Foxes entered the day’s play on a two-game losing streak, including a crushing one-goal loss at Canisius on Wednesday. They attempted to finish the season on a high note, while Iona would try to extend their season.
In a high scoring first quarter of play, Iona edged Marist 7-5. Marist jumped out to an early lead after senior attacker Olivia Arntsen scored a free position goal. Senior attacker Kelly Trotta scored the other, her 40th of the season. The Red Foxes held a two-goal advantage early in the first, but it would end up being their only lead of the day.
Marist’s third goal of the match was a special one. With a man-up advantage, sophomore midfielder Alana Tavares found freshman midfielder Jesse Manger in front of the net on a great pass. Manger got it past Iona’s freshman goalkeeper Lauren Sweeney, for her first career goal.
Marist would get another goal from Trotta, as well as one from junior midfielder Delaney Hayes to bring their total to five in the quarter. Iona’s seven goals came from six separate players, with senior midfielder Emily Stewart being the only one to record two goals. Stewart’s second came with less than 30 seconds left, giving Iona a comfortable two goal lead heading into the second.
The next 15 minutes of action provided more of the same for the Iona, as they once again netted seven goals. They picked up right where they left off, when sophomore midfielder Kira Varada scored a free position goal less than 30 seconds into the quarter.
The Red Foxes were unable to keep up, as they only scored three. Two came from Trotta, while senior attacker Kerri Gutenberger got her first off the contest.
The Red Fox offense was stifled by Sweeney, who was spectacular in net for Iona. Sweeney made six saves in the second quarter alone, with many coming on great looks for the Marist offense. These saves proved crucial as Iona took a six goal lead to halftime, by a score of 14-8.
Despite a quick goal from Gutenberger to start the second half, Iona’s offense kept rolling. They would go on to score five unanswered goals, pushing their lead to 10.
Captains Gutenberger and Trotta would put a stop to this scoring streak, as they scored back to back goals on assists from each other. Unfortunately for the Red Foxes, Iona once again scored a goal just before the quarter could come to a close. Varada scored her fifth goal of the match off of a pass from freshman midfielder Sydney Grassi to extend the Gaels lead back to nine.
The Red Foxes came out firing to start the final quarter of play, scoring three goals in less than two minutes. Two of them came from junior attacker Maddie Schrader, both assisted by Trotta. Trotta scored the other one, and the Gaels lead was down to six.
Before Marist could cut the deficit any further, MAAC Defensive Player of the Week junior goalkeeper Miranda Lopes fouled sophomore attacker Lana Ranghelli. This resulted in a free position with Lopes lined up behind Ranghelli, giving her a wide open look at the net. She converted, quieting the Marist comeback.
The teams went even the rest of the way, each scoring three goals. Marist’s season came to a close in a fitting way. With 20 seconds remaining. Gutenberger scored a free position goal, her team leading 51st on the season.
With a combined score of 41, both teams scored a season high in goals. Iona’s 24 goals, a program record, came from nine different players, four of which recording three or more. Varada led the team with six, followed by five from Stewart. Ranghelli and sophomore attacker Laine Walterson both recorded hat tricks.
In a losing effort, Marist scored a season high 17 goals. The Red Foxes were undoubtedly led today by Kelly Trotta. Trotta scored six goals and assisted on four, having a hand in 10 of Marist’s 17 goals. Next was Gutenberger with five goals, and then Schrader with two. Hayes, Arntsen, Manger, and freshman midfielder Caitlin McNaboe all scored one.
With today’s loss, Marist finishes the season at 4-12, and 2-6 in conference play. With six seniors graduating, including the season’s top three scorers, Marist heads into the offseason looking for a stronger season in 2024.
Edited by Andrew Hard
Photo from Jonathan Kinane