Marist women’s lacrosse fell to the newest MAAC conference addition, the Rider Broncs, 19-15 on Saturday afternoon.
Graduate attacker Kelly Trotta had another standout performance, notching her second straight six-goal game and eclipsing the 100-goal mark. Graduate attacker Kerri Gutenberger had her third straight hat trick against MAAC opponents.
Graduate attacker Kaylee Garcia had a six-goal performance for the Broncs, marking a new career high, while junior attacker Tony Gismondi and freshman midfielder Elena Bontatibus each had four goals of their own.
Marist (3-7, 2-1 MAAC) traveled to Lawrenceville, New Jersey for the first time in program history as they sought to defeat Rider (8-3, 2-1 MAAC) in their inaugural MAAC season.
The Broncs initiative as Gismondi netted two goals; this put Marist in a first quarter deficit for the first time in conference play.
Trotta and Gutenberger made sure to keep the Foxes within striking distance. Two goals by Trotta demonstrated her continuous offensive firepower; scoring her 99 and 100 career goals in her Marist career.
Rider finished a 5-3 run to end the first quarter leading 7-4, showcasing their fast-paced play. All told, the Broncs took 11 shots in the first quarter alone.
The second quarter began with both teams trading goals. Sophomore defender Aubrey Monroe scored her first collegiate goal for the Foxes, while Gismondi converted her second hat trick of the season to keep the Broncs in front.
Marist broke the deadlocked scoring with 47 seconds remaining in the half. Freshman attacker Greta Govoni brought the Foxes within two, trailing 9-7 heading into the break.
In the first two minutes of second-half action, the Broncs stampeded back to a four-goal lead. Garcia ran coast-to-coast to earn her sixth hat trick of 2024, while junior midfielder Selena Carrington notched herself a hat trick.
At the 11:33 mark, Garcia increased the lead to the largest of the day. Marist struggled to get shots off in the early portion of the third quarter, with Rider outshooting them 4-1 over that stretch.
The Red Foxes finally found the back of the net as Trotta earned herself another hat trick, with a fourth goal for good measure to make it 12-9. The Foxes’ second-leading goal-scorer continued to cement her legacy with the red and white.
Junior midfielder Alana Tavares got on the board off a rebounded shot to the Broncs’ lead 12-10; in just under four minutes, Marist had once again trimmed the deficit to two.
Gismondi stopped the bleeding for the Broncs for a time, putting away her fourth goal of the contest, but Trotta was right back with her fifth of the game at the buzzer. Rider took a three-goal lead into the final quarter, with the Foxes nipping at their heels.
Marist answered first to start the final 15; sophomore midfielder Caitlin McNaboe drilled her first to cut the lead to 14-12.
Rider would not relent; Garcia produced her own five-goal performance while Bontatibus picked up her second.
At the 9:45 mark, Garcia created a new career high with six goals, dropping Marist back into a five-goal hole that they would not climb out of.
Whenever it seemed like Marist was within striking distance of the lead, Rider always had an answer. For a team in their first program year, they look like a well-oiled machine.
Marist will look to bounce back on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when they host the Fairfield Stags. The Stags are currently ranked 8th in the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse RPI and 25th in the ILWomen/IWLCA Division I Poll.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
Graphic by Raegan Van Zandt
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