After their third consecutive losing season, the Marist University women’s lacrosse team looks to fill the offensive vacancies left by graduating players.
Under the tutelage of first-year head coach Keith Detelj, the Red Foxes finished 3-13, one win below their previous mark of 4-12, when former head coach Jessica Wilkinson retired. Marist tied with Quinnipiac for second-last in the MAAC, with a conference record of 2-7.
Marist struggled on both sides of the ball in the 2024 season. Offensively, they finished eighth in the MAAC in goals scored, ninth in goals per game and assists per game. Defensively, they allowed the most goals in the conference and recorded the worst save percentage.
The biggest problem for the Red Foxes entering the 2025 season is the loss of their superstar trio of attackers Kerri Gutenberger, Kelly Trotta, and Olivia Arntsen—who all graduated following last season. The three were responsible for the top three spots in the team’s points, with Gutenberger tallying 51 points, followed by Trotta and Arntsen tied at 43.
Their impact reached all-conference level, as Trotta finished fourth in the MAAC in goals per game with 2.79, with Gutenberger at tenth with 2.6. Gutenberger earned All-MAAC second-team honors. Arntsen finished sixth in the MAAC in assists per game with 1.44.
Detelj understands the loss of his stellar attack group, but also recognizes the advantages that a diverse offense can create.
“The strength of this group is that they’re extremely unselfish,” said Detelj. “We’re honing in on the fact that [this team] loves to share the ball, and because of that, I think we are going to be a very hard team to scout. If we’re unpredictable, I think that makes us one of the best offenses.”
Serving as two-time captains are senior midfielder Chloe Birckhead and senior defender Sophia Georgopoulos. Joining them for the first time is senior attacker Alana Tavares.
“Chloe and I could both agree, having the experience from last year—it was great to grow our leadership skills and as a mentor to teammates,” said Georgopoulos. “Now that we have that experience, it helps us transition this very young team into a ready mindset and continuing to change the culture into what we want it to be.”
The captains aren’t shaken by the losses of Trotta, Gutenberger and Arntsen, in fact—they are excited to pivot to an offense that is not produced by a small group of players.
“We lost key players, but right now all of us are key players,” said Tavares. “We have such a deep bench and we have such unique strengths. We’re utilizing all seven players on offense. We’re really excited for what everyone can bring.”
The culture they’re aiming for? A unit that won’t shrink when facing tough opponents or close games—especially in MAAC play.
“It’s tough. I remember from last year, there were a few games that at the very end, slipped in one way or another,” said Birckhead. “But with this group, we’ve done a great job of mentally rebounding after a bad day, so we want to carry that same mentality throughout the season.”
It is difficult to replace the offensive firepower of the three graduates, but sophomore Greta Govoni, coming off of a productive freshman campaign, is a prime candidate to shoulder some of that load. Govoni played in all 16 games and tallied 14 goals and four assists, finishing fourth in team points.
Govoni was one of three Red Foxes to be named to the 2024 MAAC All-Rookie team, alongside defender Mia Fernandes and goalie Megan Morris.
There’ll be more players than Govoni that need to step up early. Detelj points to promising freshmen across the Red Foxes’ roster: midfielder Amelia Pirozzi, defender Taija Bell, attacker Makenna Graham and attacker Isabella Dantuomo earned praise for their ability.
“But at the same time, there are a lot of people fighting for these positions right now,” said Detelj. “It’s a great thing and a hard thing for us to pick the right people that are fitting together to fill that seven.”
Along with Georgopoulos, senior defender Juliana Palombo heads the Marist defense. The duo led Marist in caused turnovers and ground balls a year ago. Sophomore goalie Megan Morris returns to start in net after posting a .398 save percentage in 2024.
Detelj made two additions to his coaching staff in the off-season, bringing in Skylar McArthur and Claire Martell as assistant coaches.
McArthur had a strong playing career at Canisius from 2018-2023 at midfield, earning All-MAAC first-team honors twice. She still plays, representing her country on the Team Canada Senior Team and arrives in Poughkeepsie after one year at High Point University.
Martell is a Verbank, NY native, about 30 minutes east of Marist. She played for five seasons at Coastal Carolina University as a goalie (2019-2024) and won a Southern Conference Championship in 2024.
The season does not start easy for the Red Foxes with the likes of USC, Binghamton, Vermont, Hofstra, and Army looming over their 2025 schedule. Each of them finished .500 or above in their respective 2024 campaigns. The team embarks on a West Coast road trip in mid-March, where they face the University of California, Berkeley along with the Trojans.
Ultimately, the pivotal games in the MAAC provide the best opportunity to achieve their goals, including returning to the MAAC playoffs.
“Making it back to MAAC play is our number one goal. We work so hard during the MAAC games, and they become such close games that it becomes a heartbreaker when you don’t make it to the tournament,” said Georgopoulos. “This year, we want to take it one game at a time and stack up wins to make it to the postseason.”
Marist landed ninth out of twelve MAAC teams in the preseason poll, as Fairfield lands the no. 1 spot for the sixth straight year. No Red Fox was named to the All-MAAC preseason team.
The Red Foxes kick off their 2025 campaign this Sunday in Durham as they face the University of New Hampshire at 11 am.
Edited by Hayden Shapiro and Marley Pope
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
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