Playing in slick conditions on a rainy Saturday evening, Marist men’s soccer came up just short in a 2-1 road loss to Fairfield, losing in their first MAAC matchup of 2024.
After jumping out to an early 1-0 lead, Marist (3-5, 0-1 MAAC) failed to contain Fairfield’s (2-6-1, 1-0 MAAC) top two goal scorers in junior midfielder William Pierce and freshman forward Devin Zachary.
Trailing 2-1 in the second half, Marist junior midfielder Skyler Cuhna lined up for a penalty kick but failed to tie the match. Marist had an advantage in each major offensive category (13-6 shot advantage, 6-4 SOG advantage and a 12-2 corner advantage), but the Fairfield defense made several key blocks and tackles to preserve the lead.
Having won three of their past four contests, Marist rolled out the same starting lineup as they did a week ago, with freshman left winger Caio Cavaletti once again joining senior forward Richard Morel and sophomore right winger Arion Ulaj on the front line of a 4-3-3 alignment.
Fairfield came into MAAC play having performed better of late after a nightmarish 0-6 start to the season. Most recently, the Stags beat Columbia and drew with no. 24 UConn to establish momentum.
The Red Foxes ran out to an early lead in the 12th minute by salvaging what initially appeared to be a fruitless set piece. Cunha lined up for a free kick on the left but sent in a ground ball instead of shooting. After a weak Fairfield clearance, sophomore Kyle Evans picked up the loose change and capitalized by perfectly curling a shot to the top corner for his first goal of 2024.
The Stags drew even in the 25th minute on a quick strike from their biggest scoring threat. Senior defender Kris Naicker received a diagonal switch and controlled the ball with a nice first touch that allowed him to immediately slice through the defense.
In a prime position in the middle, Naicker placed a through ball up to Zachary, who then quickly tapped the ball up to Pierce. Pierce buried a close-range shot for his fifth goal of the season, leaving Marist goalkeeper Jamie Lowell with little time to react to the quick sequence.
A few minutes before the half, Marist surrendered the lead on another quick-developing play. Graduate student midfielder Alex Oliveira delivered a free kick from the right side into a crowd right in front of the goal, and Zachary managed to head the ball in for his third score of the season, giving Fairfield a 2-1 lead at the break.
Marist dealt with an injury concern in the 54th minute; freshman defender Gjis Verheul was tripped near the left post and hit the ground hard. He ultimately had to be helped off the field and did not return. Sophomore defender Ethan Ortiz entered the match and performed admirably in his stead.
In the 61st minute, Marist received a lifeline when Morel was tripped by senior defender Juan Pablo Leano inside the box, setting up a penalty kick. Cunha lined up to take the kick with a chance to tie the match, but he butchered it, sending a low shot directly up the middle to junior goalkeeper Viktor Nokolov. The ball ricocheted off of him and into the air, and Cavaletti attempted to bicycle kick the rebound in but could not line up his shot.
With a dozen minutes left, Chris Verheul sent a long winding cross to the back post from the left side, but despite placing it to the perfect spot, Cavaletti was just late in getting to it.
At the five-minute mark, sophomore midfielder Adam Rustami sent an accurate cross to Cavalett up close, but a perfect tackle by junior forward Dylan Medeiros disrupted another promising Marist chance.
In the final minute, a Marist corner kick ended with sophomore defender Nicholas Sanchez heading the ball just in front of the goal, but it veered just left of the post. As time wound down, Marist tried frantically to get off one more good look but was unsuccessful.
The Red Foxes will need to do a better job of taking advantage of scoring opportunities when they present themselves; their next chance to do so will be on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they travel to Lehigh for their final non-conference match of the season.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic and photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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