With the chance to earn a home-field playoff match on the line, Marist and Siena erupted for six second-half goals.
Siena (5-4-6, 3-1-3) emerged from the chaos as a 5-2 winner, not only earning a home playoff match for themselves but also denying Marist (6-7-2, 3-2-2) the right to host a playoff match on their home turf.
Earlier on Wednesday, Marist clinched a spot in the eight-team MAAC conference tournament, so tonight’s match determined whether the Red Foxes would clinch home-field advantage in the first round.
With the loss, Marist dropped to fifth in the MAAC standings and will now go on the road to face No. 4 Quinnipiac on Sunday in the MAAC Quarterfinals; Marist previously beat the Bobcats 2-0 in a road match on Oct. 19.
“We’re not afraid of anybody, there’s no reason to be afraid of anybody. We can beat anybody,” said Marist head coach Matt Viggiano. “There’s no reason why we can’t win this thing.”
Forward/midfielder Chris Verheul nearly put Marist up by one with a sensational shot in the 24th minute from well outside the box. Despite his shot catching sophomore goalkeeper Bennett Glinder off guard, it sailed just high to keep the match scoreless.
With 10 minutes remaining in the half, graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell faced a close shot from senior midfielder Olafor Freysson near the left post. Lowell rose to the occasion and made an aggressive save, but the ball bounced off him and out of bounds to set up a Siena corner kick.
On the ensuing corner, Marist initially appeared to clear the ball out far enough to mitigate the threat. Sophomore midfielder Lee Mara salvaged the possession for Siena and then made an improbable goal from 24 yards out that snuck in the far high corner to put the Saints up 1-0.
“[Mara] scored a wonder goal, I thought it was an even game,” said Viggiano. “I don’t think the score reflected the game at all.”
Marist came out firing in the second half and tied the match up in the 48th minute. Sophomore defender Nicholas Sanchez cascaded up the middle of the pitch alone and placed a perfect pass out to the left wing, hitting freshman midfielder Caio Cavaletti in stride. From there, Cavaletti powered in a shot past the diving Glinder to tie the match 1-1.
Siena then got the lead right back, as a deflection off the back of sophomore defender Joseph Daher found Freysson right in front of the goal. With Lowell facing a close Freysson shot, he guessed by diving to his right; Fresyson’s shot went to his left and into the net, putting Siena up 2-1.
“Right after we scored, they caught us on a quick throw-in, and we just shut off,” said Viggiano. “We’ve been good at that throughout the year, so I think we’re a little mentally and physically tired.”
The Saints continued their scoring blitz two minutes later. Graduate student midfielder Cole Hellert used excellent footwork to shake off the defender and deliver a perfect strike over Lowell into the far high corner of the net, putting Siena up by a deuce.
Despite trailing by two, Marist refused to wave the white flag on the chance to earn a home playoff match. After sustained offensive pressure in the 57th minute, senior forward Richard Morel emerged from the pack and finished off the possession with his sixth goal in 2024, setting a new career high for goals scored in a single season.
Daher attempted to tie the match up from 30 yards out in the 63rd minute, but his shot veered just wide right of the right post. On the ensuing corner kick, freshman defender Gijs Verheul headed in a dangerous shot, but Glinder punched the ball out of harm’s way to preserve Siena’s lead.
Marist’s comeback effort hit a snag in the 68th minute when sophomore midfielder Arion Ulaj earned a yellow card inside the box, setting up Siena with a penalty kick. Freshman back Dren Dobruna set up to take the kick, and although Lowell guessed correctly, Dobruna still managed to sneak the shot past him to put the Saints back up by two.
For Dobruna, earning a goal was an appropriate conclusion to an outstanding freshman season during which he constantly created opportunities for his teammates. Entering tonight, Dobruna had a MAAC-leading 10 assists and zero goals scored, a highly unusual stat line that indicated his willingness to consistently defer to teammates.
Lowell kept the deficit at two with a gutsy save in the 70th minute, as he came out of goal to neutralize a breakaway from sophomore forward Mario Navarro Perez. Perez would ultimately get the last laugh, as he charged downfield on another breakaway in the 80th minute. This time, he finished off the possession with his fifth goal of the season and Siena’s fifth goal of the match, giving them a commanding 5-2 lead they would not relinquish.
“We’re on a streak where we’ve now played six games in 18 days. There’s a bit of mental and physical fatigue,” said Viggiano.
With Marist now entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed, Siena maintains its slot as the No. 3 seed and will host Rider during the quarterfinals. Kickoff at Quinnipiac is TBA.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo; Photos from Marist Athletics
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