Marist men’s lacrosse is 1-0 in the Dave Scarcello era. A first-half hat-trick from sophomore attackmen Collin Patrick led Marist (1-0) to beat Mercer (1-1) 16-6 in the Red Foxes season opener.
Head coach Dave Scarcello earned his first win at the helm, after seven years as an assistant coach and player.
Scarcello did place this win inside his personal Top 10, but he also said that “1-0 is not where we want to be satisfied.”
An 11-2 second half sealed the win for Marist, as nine different players scored. Five Red Foxes had multiple goals, with Patrick’s four leading the way. Marist scored seven straight between the third and fourth quarters to blow the game open.
“Our dodging, spacing, and sharing the rock was really important,” said Scarcello.
Patrick repeated what he did last year, scoring a handful of goals in the season opener. The 2024 All-MAAC rookie finished with four in a dominant performance. He got to the cage at will with both hands and set the tone for the offense. His secret? “Being a dog daily,” said Patrick.
An explosive third quarter started slow but ended with four Marist goals in the last five minutes.
Four unanswered goals in the third quarter quickly turned into seven, as the Red Foxes netted three in 21 seconds in the fourth, capped by a goal from senior faceoff man Dylan Bedell.
Marist’s defense performed all game, forcing nine of Mercer’s 19 turnovers. Senior goalie Noble Smith finished with 14 saves and six goals allowed. Smith gave up only two goals in the second half, tallying eight saves. Senior defender Aidan McCaffrey added an all-round performance with three caused turnovers, four ground balls and two assists.
Graduate student midfielder Josh Balcarcel took a while to get going, scoring his first goal – and point – with under 30 seconds to play in the third quarter. Balcarcel finished the game with two goals, his second coming in the fourth quarter.
An even first quarter ended with Marist ahead 3-2 behind two from Patrick. Mercer did tie the game, but a second pair of goals within a minute gave Marist a two-goal cushion. Freshman attacker Drew Weismann scored on his debut to go along with Patrick’s third.
With a 5-4 score and even shooting stats at halftime, Marist made their run in the second half.
“We’re gonna come out hot, come out firing. The shots will fall,” said Patrick. This message clearly resonated, as the offense lit up Mercer’s defense in the final two frames.
Both offenses started the second half slow, with the first goal not coming until nearly 10 minutes had passed. Freshman attacker Will Zylstra got his fifth goal of the season and first of the game for Mercer.
Patrick grabbed his fourth, senior attacker Jake Deacy nailed his second and Bedell got himself on the scoresheet. A tie game with 20 minutes to play became a 12-5 game with under 10 minutes left.
Mercer finally answered with Zylstra’s second but the Bears needed much more to get back in the game. With both teams trading empty possessions, sophomore long stick midfielder Michael Cassanno extended the Marist lead with just under six minutes to play.
Sophomore midfielder Sean Mullen added one towards the finish, and Cassanno scored another, pushing Marist’s lead to double-digits as the clock wound down and finishing the day with two goals and an assist.
This dominant home win gives Marist momentum heading into their tough five-game road trip. Games against no. 8 Denver and Jacksonville will test Scarcello’s squad early.
Marist travels to Florida taking on Jacksonville on Saturday, February 15. First face-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic by Raegan Van Zandt; Photo from Marist Athletics
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