Marist women’s lacrosse earned their first win of the season as they dismantled the visiting Vermont Catamounts in a 13-7 victory. The Red Foxes fired on all cylinders on both sides of the ball.
The Catamounts came to Tenney Stadium for their first of a six-game stretch of road games, which was abruptly arranged after Virtue Field was permeated with ice and rendered unplayable.
Senior attacker Alexa Borges unleashed five goals in the game, almost matching her season total of six scores from 2023—she did not even appear in any games in 2024. Sophomore attacker Kate Gaven added on a hat-trick of her own as well.
“I really owe it all to my teammates. We got a great run going and we pushed the fast break, Anne Shine cleared the lane for me to take my left drive” said Borges. “It feels really good. I was due for a good game, and the whole team is hungry. We worked all week for a win and we showed it out there.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Megan Morris headlined a stout defensive start for the Foxes, notching 11 saves to seven goals allowed.
“I never doubted us. I knew we would step it up” said Morris. “This win shows how we can step up to the plate, that we are competitors, and we’re able to lead our best foot forward and meet a team like Vermont and show that we’re here to play.”
The rest of the defensive unit swarmed, denying entry passes and forcing shots wide to ease the pressure off of Morris.
“Morris sees the ball very well, and in order to help her we have to adjust to shooters,” said head coach Keith Detelj. “[the defense] did a wonderful job preventing hands-free shooting so she could read it.”
The Red Foxes entered this contest looking to snap their three-game losing streak, as they had already accumulated a -33 point differential through three games, with all losses coming by ten or more points.
“It’s our character,” said Detelj. “Reputation is something somebody else gives you, and character is going to be what sets us apart in the next couple of games.”
Borges whirled around the net for an unassisted strike to open up scoring for the Foxes, giving them a 1-0 lead just under a minute into the game.
After a yellow card was assessed to senior defender Julia Palumbo, junior attacker Lauren Lefebvre made good on her free-position, man-up opportunity to knot the game at 1-1.
Gaven worked her defender for an unassisted bounce-shot goal to put Marist back up 2-1 with five minutes to go in the first period. Sophomore midfielder Anne Shine added another score with fifty-three seconds remaining to extend their lead to 3-1 on purely unassisted goals.
Borges added another goal to the impressive start for her and the Red Foxes, a close-range bouncer that extended Marist’s run to 3-0, and the game to 4-1.
Senior midfielder Chloe Birckhead sliced in a solo goal as the Foxes kept finding answers for the Catamounts early, pushing the lead back to 5-2.
Once again, Vermont was not deterred, as sophomore attacker Karina Sethi muscled her way inside, shooting over three Marist defenders surrounding her to secure the score and make it 5-3.
Borges earned a hat-trick midway through the second quarter on a feed from Birckhead, as the back-and-forth only continued, 6-3.
After the first half, Marist had already matched their highest-scoring total of the season, while holding Vermont to their lowest-scoring half of their campaign.
To open up scoring in the second half, Birckhead fed junior midfielder Caitlin McNaboe on a perfectly executed give-and-go for an easy score. Not even thirty seconds later, Borges notched her fourth goal of the contest to widen the gap to 8-3 in a hurry.
The scoring continued as Gaven rocketed in her second of the game after cutting open. After continuing to hold Vermont scoreless on the other end, Birckhead scored her second goal on a free-position look, extending the run to 4-0 and the score to 10-3.
The Catamounts finally scored for the first time since the second quarter, as Lefebvre spun into a high shot that went over the defenders’ heads to notch her second. Vermont added another on another goal from Doraz as Marist still led 11-5.
The Red Foxes kept the heat on as Gaven secured her hat-trick on an unassisted goal, forcing the lead back to six. Then, Borges scored her fifth goal of the day on another unassisted strike to extend the score to 13-5.
Vermont added two scores late, but by then the game had been decided with under a minute to go. Marist completed the win 13-7.
Next up, the Red Foxes greet Monmouth for their second of three straight home games on February 26th, at 4 p.m.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic by Caitlin Bombassei; Photo from
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