The Marist women’s lacrosse team clashed with Canisius in a back-and-forth overtime thriller in the rain, falling 11-10 behind a game-winning goal from sophomore midfielder Maddie Fitzgerald.
Canisius (5-7, 2-2 MAAC) entered the game having concluded four straight games in one-score fashion, going 1-3 in that stretch. Marist (3-10, 2-2 MAAC) looked to create its first win streak after their victory over Merrimack on Wednesday.
Senior midfielder Chloe Birckhead and sophomore midfielder Catherine Windsor recorded hat tricks in the loss. Birckhead is now on a two-game hat-trick streak, while Windsor recorded her first career three-goal game.
Sophomore attacker Kate Gaven appeared to be nursing an injury that kept her sidelined against Merrimack. After playing the first half, she sat for the second half, only seeing the field for a portion of overtime.
Megan Morris, Marist’s sophomore goalkeeper, put on a goalie clinic by notching a career-high 14 saves, coming up big in the clutch numerous times.
“She gives us a lot of stability game-to-game. Today, we switched into a man [defense], and we had to give her a different shot, and she adjusted really well,” said head coach Keith Detelj. “Our mentality is that we can’t stop every shot, but we can make it a better one for her to save.”
Birckhead opened the scoring after six minutes of strong defense from both sides, converting a free-position opportunity for her fifteenth goal of the season. Canisius wasted no time mounting a counterattack, launching a 3-0 run in under two minutes, two of which came from senior midfielder Hailey Rooney as she reached the fifteen-goal milestone for the season as well.
Suddenly trailing 3-1 in the blink of an eye, Marist quickly righted the ship with another strike from Birckhead to cut the deficit to one.
“Being able to catch up to another team’s run has been huge for us this year, and something that we struggled with in the past,” said Birckhead. “Whether we’re down by five or down by one, we try to continue to be level-headed and keep playing to our best ability.”
However, the Golden Griffins continued to fire on all cylinders, causing a turnover and pushing it down the field to earn a goal from sophomore midfielder Maddie Fitzgerald, her twentieth of the season.
The Marist defense continued to allow easy entry passes for open shots up-close, surrendering another goal to Rooney just before the close of the first period—giving the midfielder an early hat-trick and Canisius a 5-2 lead entering the second.
Needing a spark on offense, sophomore attacker Anne Shine first scored a close-range goal, followed by a feed to Windsor to bring the Foxes within one. Building on the momentum, junior midfielder Jesse Manger snuck in a sweeping bounce shot to start a 3-0 Red Fox run and knot the game at 5-5.
The tie did not last, as back-to-back goals from freshman attacker Katie Adams, her fifteenth goal of the season, and sophomore attacker Megan Previdi put Canisius back in front 7-5.
Shine notched her second goal of the half to bring the score to 7-6 going into halftime.
After a Canisius score to start the half, Birckhead responded with her third goal—her second-straight hat-trick—bringing the score to 8-7. Windsor added her second to even the score at eight.
The Marist defense looked renewed in the second half, cutting off entry passes and forcing turnovers. Freshman defender Taija Bell led the way for the defensive unit, leading the team in all defensive stats.
“I really couldn’t have done it without the whole defensive unit. [Megan Morris] really stepped up and made phenomenal saves, and [Shelby Hahn] and [Juliana Palumbo] have helped me get to the right places at the right time,” said Bell.
After six scoreless minutes, Adams delivered an impressive scoring blow to regain the lead for Canisius at 9-8, recapturing the momentum at a critical juncture entering the final frame.
Junior attacker Maggie Tifft reached the twenty-goal milestone to start the fourth quarter. Continuing the back-and-forth battle, Windsor struck back with a strike of her own, netting her a hat trick and pulling the Foxes back within one.
After failing to capitalize on earlier scoring opportunities, Manger delivered a high post shot on a crucial free-position shot to tie the game at 10 with five minutes to play.
With an opportunity to take the lead with less than a minute to go, Marist committed a costly turnover, leading to overtime.
Marist failed to capitalize on their possession of overtime, coughing up another turnover. With a free-position shot to seal the game, Canisius did not miss their chance, as Fitzgerald snuck one by Morris to deliver the killing blow.
“In tough losses like these, I just always remind my teammates to keep their heads up,” said Birckhead. “Losing in overtime isn’t fun, but we made a lot of progress and a lot of new moments to roll off of. We’re excited for our next game, because we saw a lot of growth opportunities to capitalize on.”
The Foxes will get their next opportunity against Siena on April 9, heading into another critical MAAC game as the standings remain wide open for the taking.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo and Graphic from Kira Crutcher