Despite Marist men’s soccer outshooting Albany 14-4 and allowing no corner kicks, the Red Foxes could not capitalize on their opportunities, falling 2-0 to the Great Danes on Monday night.
In the 17th minute, the Great Danes (2-4) took the lead after junior midfielder Timo Jansen delivered a sweeping strike from well outside the box to the lower left corner, a beautiful shot to put Albany up 1-0. Albany added another goal in the second half and did not look back, holding on to notch their second win of the season.
Junior midfielder Skyler Cunha almost started the game off with a statement for Marist (1-4), sending a rocket from the logo in the 10th minute, but it just veered left of the goal mid-flight.
After Marist allowed the goal in the 17th minute, back and forth play ensued. In the 32nd minute, a throw-in led to a promising attempt by junior midfielder Jonathan Salguero that just missed right.
Albany kept the pressure on in the 42nd minute. Graduate student midfielder Max Kwitchoff executed a beautiful lead pass to senior forward Ander Castillo, who soared in for a header that was miraculously deflected by graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell.
Yellow cards came out at the end of the half—one assessed to freshman midfielder Caio Cavaletti after a high foot, and another assessed to freshman defender Luca Grilla after he tripped up Cunha.
Marist struggled to capitalize on opportunities in opponent territory, with crosses, corners and free kicks all looking out of sync.
“We could have done a better job at of getting over the first guy and really trying to pick guys out…that and maybe having more definitive runs in the box,” said head coach Matt Viggiano.
At the half, the offensive numbers favored Marist but did not show on the scoreboard, with the Red Foxes leading shots 7-2 and 3-0 in corners, but trailing where it mattered, 1-0.
To kick off the second half, sophomore midfielder/forward Adam Rustami scrambled for a loose ball in the 49th minute but delivered a shaky shot from 25 yards out that went right into Shannon’s hands.
In the 52nd minute, freshman forward/midfielder Chris Verhuel delivered an excellent through ball to senior forward Richard Morel, but they failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunity in the box once again.
Sophomore defender Nicholas Sanchez was called for a yellow card in the 55th minute; he kicked the ball away after the referee blew the whistle, meriting the card.
The Red Foxes could not manage to get an offensive attack going. In the 61st minute, Cunha launched a promising through ball that Shannon swallowed up. In the 63rd minute, Shannon broke up a cross and during the 67th minute, Evans missed a shot on a poor corner kick.
Albany struck again in the 78th minute—a long throw-in from sophomore defender Christos Efstathiou sailed into the box, where it was headed into the bottom left corner by Castillo to put the Danes up 2-0.
Sanchez picked up his decisive second yellow card on a risky tackle in the 79th minute, earning him a red card and an ejection.
The Foxes’ offensive attack only waned as a result of playing 10-on-11, unable to mount any momentum late.
“It’s a game of moments, unfortunately, and we didn’t find a moment.” Viggiano said.
Viggiano maintained a steadfast confidence in his unit, unshaken by the rough start.
“The better team doesn’t always win, and I think for large swaths of the game, we dominated them.”
The Red Foxes are in the midst of a three-game homestand, with their next opponent, Fordham University, traveling into Tenney on Friday.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Graphic by Gabriella Cortes; Photos from Kira Crutcher
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