The Marist women’s lacrosse team took down the Columbia Lions’ late-game comeback attempt for their first win of the 2024 season, 13-12 on Tuesday afternoon.
Freshman goalie Megan Morris provided another great performance, saving 10 on 22 shots faced. Graduate attacker Olivia Arntsen tallied her first hat trick of the season, while freshman midfielder Gabby Kingston scored her first two collegiate goals.
Graduate attackers Kerri Gutenberger and Kelly Trotta followed suit, putting up a hat-trick and two goals respectively en route to their first victory of the season.
Colombia freshman goalie Ava Kimche had a stellar performance, saving 12 shots on 25 total. Freshman midfielder Anna Becker put up a hat-trick performance, while freshman attacker Michelle Zhai notched two scores.
Marist (1-5) hosted the last game of their three-game homestand as Columbia (2-4) came off their third loss to Cornell last week. The Red Foxes found themselves in a prime position to turn things around after a brutal non-conference schedule.
The Lions opened up the scoring quickly as senior midfielder Sophie Zachara nailed one on a free-position attempt just a minute into the contest. Arntsen answered back, scoring the Foxes’ first of the afternoon 50 seconds later.
Morris stood on her head in the opening frame. With the defense facing multiple yellow cards, Morris came up with five huge saves to keep the score equal.
Two teams that struggled defensively all season played lockdown in the first quarter. Kingston scored her first collegiate goal at the 3:01 mark of the first quarter to end a nearly 10-minute scoring drought.
Marist took advantage of the defensive slog, jumping to a quick three-goal run behind Trotta and Gutenberger to start the second quarter.
Columbia turned their ugly play around, rattling off three goals to even the score back up just over the halfway mark of the second.
Neither team found the back of the net to close the first half. The momentum hung in the balance heading into the locker room, with each team looking to take control of the game.
The third quarter opened up with a battle of the freshmen goalies. Morris made her presence known, but Kimche responded with key saves of her own including three saves on free-position attempts, reaching 11 saves total halfway through the third quarter.
Junior midfielder Alana Tavares broke the deadlock at the 4:06 mark to regain the Red Foxes lead. Gutenberger followed suit, grabbing her second of the game on a slick sidestep at the goal line to keep the Foxes up two heading into the final frame.
Columbia started the fourth quarter with a score by Zhai, clawing away at the two-goal deficit, but Marist answered with a sneaky Arntsen goal.
With 11:06 remaining in the game, Colombia scored with the shot clock expiring but the referees waved it off after a long internal discussion, which the Colombia sideline protested.
Marist took full advantage as freshman attacker Greta Govoni put her squad back up three off a wrist rocket to match their largest lead.
A minute later, Arntsen finished her first hat-trick of the season to break through the 10-goal team mark Marist has struggled to reach. Marist extended their lead to five after another quick goal.
Columbia did not falter, scoring off three straight goals in 90 seconds to cut the deficit to two. A Gutenberger goal slowed the comeback, but the Lions scored two more to get within one.
The Red Foxes gained possession and ran out the clock in the final minute to secure their first win.
After a rough five-game stretch, Marist earned a win for the first time this year. Both sides of the ball looked poised and prepared, using their tight losses to fuel their first win.
With the homestand now over, Marist looks ahead for their final non-conference game as they head to Storrs, Connecticut to take on UConn on Saturday, Mar. 16. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
Edited By Marley Pope
Photo Credit: Marist Athletics
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