Marist men’s soccer continued their September surge, hanging on for a 3-2 non-conference win over Long Island University on Saturday evening.
Before the match, dozens of youth soccer players from the LaGrange Soccer Club joined Marist on the field for lineup announcements and the national anthem. Once the festivities concluded and the match commenced, the Red Foxes (3-4) stormed out to a 3-0 lead over the defending Northeast Conference champions. The Marist defense benefitted from sophomore center-back Nicholas Sanchez’s return from suspension, and the offense received a plethora of contributions with three players scoring their first goals in 2024.
A furious comeback attempt from the Sharks (3-3-3) put Marist’s lead in jeopardy, but a handful of key defensive stands allowed the Red Foxes to hang on by the skin of their teeth. None were bigger than a match-altering save by graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell with seven minutes left; Lowell dove out and got his fingers on the ball to prevent the game-tying score.
Marist made a new addition to the starting lineup, inserting freshman Caio Cavaletti. The Brazilian midfielder immediately impacted the match with his aggressive play, winning possession and sending a perfect pass up the line to senior forward Richard Morel.
“I was very excited for this moment because I worked for this,” said Cavaletti. “I’m far away from home, I’m from Brazil, but I’m enjoying playing here.”
Morel, who scored a pair of goals in last Friday’s momentum-shifting win over Fordham, nearly earned another in the sixth minute. Junior midfielder Skyler Cunha sent a long pass up to Morel and he received a wide-open look; his shot ultimately veered just wide of the left post.
Even with the early missed opportunity, it did not take long for Marist to take charge of the match. In the 16th minute, Cunha’s corner kick found Sanchez, who sent in a header. Senior goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski made the save, but freshman defender Gijs Verheul was positioned perfectly and knocked in the deflection for his first Marist goal.
“I’m so excited, I’m very happy that I can help the team and that I can make a difference with the score,” said Verheul.
A pair of Marist substitutions combined to increase the lead in the 40th minute. A long cross from sophomore midfielder Kyle Evans reached graduate student defender/midfielder Stephen Betz. Betz, a team captain who has played limited minutes to date, headed the ball to sophomore midfielder Adam Rustami who knocked it in for his second career goal to give Marist a 2-0 at halftime.
Tensions began to boil over in the 61st minute; while Evans recovered a loose ball, LIU freshman forward Tal Levy slammed into him. Yet to the dismay of the Tenney Stadium crowd, no foul was called on the play, leading to a noticeable uptick in physicality from both teams in the ensuing stretch.
Marist further extended their lead in the 65th minute executing a perfect counterattack where Evans assisted freshman defender/winger Evan Marques for his first collegiate goal. Marques’ teammates mobbed him by the corner flag, enveloping him inside a celebratory huddle.
“My family is here [tonight], and it was a great atmosphere,” said Marques.
LIU finally showed signs of life in the 67th minute; senior defender Saïdou Diallo spiraled in a bending free kick to junior defender Niklas Thanhofer, who buried his shot to get the Sharks on the board.
The Sharks continued their valiant comeback effort with another impressive goal five minutes later; graduate student forward Jesper Mikkelsen reeled off a shot from over 20 yards out on the right side that careened across the defense and inside of the left post. Suddenly, Marist’s huge advantage had vanished.
“We put three [goals] on the board, you hope it stands up, right?” said Marist head coach Matt Viggiano. “We need to learn from this, we need to be a little more mature.”
Evans made a crucial stop with under 15 minutes remaining by heading a close-range shot out of harm’s way. The most pivotal stop of all came with seven minutes left.
Freshman forward Stephane Njike rocketed in a shot that was headed toward the bottom right corner, but Lowell stretched out and deflected the shot around his left post. The save was arguably Lowell’s best of the season, and it could not have come at a more crucial time.
“That’s a big-time Division I save,” said Viggiano “That’s as good as it gets as far as a save goes. That’s what we expect from our one really old guy out on the field.”
Marist will look to keep rolling as they begin MAAC Conference play next weekend; the Red Foxes will travel to Fairfield to take on the Stags next Saturday at 7 p.m.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic and Photos by Jaylen Rizzo
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