Marist Women’s soccer conceded a second minute goal against St. Thomas (MN) and were unable to recover, losing 1-0 and being shut out for the third time in four games to open the season.
Marist went with a nearly identical starting lineup to their previous game, a 1-0 home loss against Bryant. The one change was in goal, as freshman goalkeeper Samantha Graf earned her first collegiate start in place of injured junior goalkeeper Maddy Catalanotti.
St. Thomas got off to a rapid start, quickly dominating possession after Marist turned the ball over shortly after the opening kickoff.
The Tommies then quickly developed multiple chances, first by taking the first shot of the game, a second minute header by redshirt sophomore defender Sydney Kubes that missed wide right.
St. Thomas continued to threaten persistently over the next couple of minutes before senior forward Lexi Huber recovered her own blocked shot, and delivered a screamer from just inside the penalty box to give the Tommies an instant 1-0 lead.
The Red Foxes quickly began to control more possession following the St. Thomas goal as Jillian Garcia earned Marist the first corner of the game. Graduate student defender Keegan Mayer delivered a cross into the box that was ultimately headed to safety by the Tommies.
The next few minutes consisted of largely sloppy play from both sides, though Marist was able to consistently push the ball down the field. In the tenth minute, freshman forward Gabby Tirado found herself one-on-one with senior St. Thomas goalkeeper Olivia Rowe on a bouncing ball that was ultimately plucked out of the air by Rowe, ending the chance.
Following Garcia’s chance, the Tommies pushed the ball back up field, threatening consistently to create more chances before junior forward Sophia Barjesteh delivered a screaming shot leading to a beautiful diving save by freshman goalkeeper Samantha Graf, the first of her collegiate career. Marist continued to defend sloppily, ultimately conceding two more corners over the next couple of minutes before finally earning a goal kick.
The Red Foxes repeatedly attempted to quickly push the ball up field, a strategy that led to consistent turnovers over the first 20 minutes of the game, allowing St. Thomas to continually win back possession and threaten to score.
Marist earned their second corner in the 28th minute. After the initial cross was headed out of the box, junior midfielder Julia Loncar delivered a strike from outside the box that was blocked, ending the scoring chance.
Quickly, Marist pushed the ball back up the field, earning a second corner. The Red Foxes came as close as they had yet to find the back of the net, as Tirado’s corner was headed towards the left post by Loncar and barely cleared away by the Tommies. The Red Foxes continued to develop chances for their second goal of the season, but St. Thomas ultimately regained control and pushed the ball back upfield.
For the next four minutes, possession went back and forth before Marist aggressively pushed the ball upfield and earned a free kick from the center of the field about 12 yards outside the box. Tirado delivered the free kick just over the crossbar.
Marist generated one more significant chance with one minute remaining in the half, but junior forward Miiya Reid was ruled offside, sending the Red Foxes into the half trailing 1-0.
By halftime, St. Thomas outshot the Red Foxes 11-5, while Marist generated only one shot on goal.
In the second half, the Tommies got off to a fast start, generating two corners within the first two minutes. However, Graf stood strong for the Red Foxes, saving a shot following the first corner and punching the second one away.
St. Thomas continued to threaten, earning two more corners before the 50th minute, but again failed to find the back of the net on both.
Marist generated their first chance of the half via a corner in the 51st minute, their fourth of the game. Tirado delivered a high-arcing cross into the box that was ultimately headed out of bounds by the Red Foxes.
Graf continued her strong showing shortly after, making a sensational diving save on a shot by Sophia Caballero, her sixth of the game.
After an offensive push coming out of the half, and given Marist’s struggles to score, St. Thomas adopted a more defensive approach and attempted to push the ball less. The Red Foxes struggled to press Rowe, with her only action of the first 12 minutes of the half coming on a strike directly at her from over 30 yards out by Emily Dovico, leading to an easy save.
The next 10 minutes resulted in a lot of back and forth, but not many chances for either side. Just as they have throughout the early portion of the season, Marist struggled to create chances and generate shots on goal.
With 13 minutes remaining, junior midfielder Julia Lindsay did well to earn a corner for Marist, one of the few significant chances they earned in the half. The Tommies headed the high-arcing corner away, again squandering a rare scoring opportunity for the Red Foxes.
That was the final scoring chance for Marist, as St. Thomas dominated possession for the remainder of the game, earning a 1-0 win and handing the Red Foxes their third shutout in four games to open the season.
The clearest bright spot for Marist was the performance of Graf in goal. She had six saves and consistently stood tall, with St. Thomas’ only goal coming on a beautiful shot to the upper 90. “I thought she was fantastic,” said Marist Head Coach Nicole Pacapelli. “She was confident, the girls were confident in her, and she really was a leader back there for us.”
Going forward, Marist will continue to search for ways to find the back of the net. Since the beginning of last season, they have scored just six goals in 20 games. “We really just need to continue to work on more forward movement, just a little more creativity,” said Pacapelli. “The girls that have been starting [are] nine out of eleven new players, so really just taking time to continue to gel together, work together, work on our possession a little bit more in and around the final third and the eighteen, hopefully it comes together soon.”
Despite the early season struggles, confidence among the team remains high. “This is the great beginning to a good comeback story right now,” Graf said. “I think we’re gonna win the whole thing.”
The Red Foxes will be back home on Sunday when Navy travels to Poughkeepsie for an afternoon contest.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo and Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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