After a red card five minutes into the season, Marist men’s soccer played a man down and lost 4-0, conceding three goals and an assist to Wisconsin freshman Dean Boltz.
Opening their season on the road, Marist played into their first-ever match with Wisconsin looking to make a statement against a big name opponent.
Marist looked to improve upon a 6-8-3 record from 2023, while the Badgers began their journey building off of a 6-5-6 showing from a year ago.
Marist trotted out a starting lineup that featured a couple of noticeable omissions. Senior forward Richard Morel, who led Marist with five goals in 2023, began the game on the bench and did not sub in until the 23rd minute.
Junior midfielder and team captain Skyler Cunha, who was third on the team with seven points last year, also began the day riding the pine and did not see action until the 37th minute.
Marist featured a newcomer in net, with graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell taking over this season for Luca Bulfon. Lowell came to Marist after making 25 starts over four years at the University of Maryland where he averaged 1.16 goals against.
In the fifth minute, Boltz began to make his presence felt by driving up the left side past the Marist defense. Marist freshman defender Gjis Verheul caught up to Boltz and made a sliding challenge, immediately drawing a red card that disqualified him from the remainder of the match.
Needless to say, playing down a man so early on put Marist in a hole. Last season, the Red Foxes went 1-2-1 in matches during which they received a red card, with their lone win in a red card match coming when they already had a lead at the time of the red card.
At a disadvantage defensively, Marist hung back in their half of the pitch for an extended stretch. Initially, the Red Foxes forced the Badgers into some inaccurate shots. Looking to speed up the game and leverage their advantage, Wisconsin picked up the tempo, applying consistent pressure on the Marist defense.
The freshman Boltz continued to make a great first impression by scoring the Badgers’ first goal of the season in the 20th minute. The scoring opportunity began when junior forward Thomas Raimbault sent in a shot from further out on the right side; the shot rebounded off Lowell, and Boltz slid through the defense and poked the ball in for his first collegiate goal.
Looking to salvage a difficult first half, the Red Foxes made a last-ditch effort just before the buzzer that culminated in a Marist corner kick. Sophomore defender Nicholas Sanchez received the ball and sent in a strong shot, but it was deflected out of the way as time expired.
By the half, Wisconsin had outshot Marist 10-1, with four shots on goal compared to none for the Red Foxes.
In the 51st minute, a bizarre sequence unfolded. A Badger corner kick resulted in sophomore midfielder Trip Fleming fighting for possession and found to senior forward Kevin Andrews Andrews, who fired off a shot that Lowell saved. The ball then deflected off Lowell’s hands, with Fleming crashing towards goal and burying the ball into the back of the net.
While it appeared that Fleming had put the Badgers up by a pair, officials then signaled that Fleming was offsides and waived the goal. With it being a close call, the play underwent a four-minute video review, and ultimately, the offsides call was upheld.
Marist did not hold much longer, as Boltz doubled down during the 63rd minute with the second goal of his collegiate debut. Boltz outhustled the Marist defense, breaking away from the pack and encountering Lowell in a one-on-one situation. With one man to beat, Boltz chipped the ball over Lowell to put the Badgers up by a pair.
Boltz earned his fifth point of the night with a dozen minutes remaining, as he assisted Zachemski’s first collegiate goal to put Wisconsin up three. Boltz then capped off his historic hat trick with an emphatic goal in the 83rd minute, staking the Badgers out to an insurmountable 4-0 lead.
Marist will seek to get back on track on Sunday Aug. 25; they continue their season-opening road trip with a 3 p.m. game at Marquette.
Edited by Marley Pope
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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