In conditions unbefitting of mid-April, Marist lost 14-9 to Mount St. Mary’s with remnants of snow on the field and rain falling throughout the contest at Tenney Stadium.
The Mountaineers, who entered in second place in the MAAC, shut Marist out in the third quarter in the midst of eight unanswered goals to lead them to their sixth victory in their last seven games.
The Marist women’s lacrosse team (3-12, 2-4 MAAC) honored its seniors in a heartwarming demonstration before the opening draw.
“It’s the kind of day that you anticipate through all your time here,” said senior midfielder Chloe Birckhead. “To be able to walk across the field with your loved ones and having your teammates cheer you on is something really exciting and accomplishing to be a part of.”
Coincidentally, seven of the nine Red Fox scores were netted by seniors: senior Alexa Borges stood out with her second hat-trick of the season.
“I owe it all to my teammates, we had good drifts and movements that allowed me to take my question mark dodge,” said Borges. “We worked as a unit, and it allowed me to have success today.”
Mount St. Mary’s (9-5, 5-1 MAAC) entered the game as one of the dominant teams in the conference. Their plus-0.8 goal margin per game was good for second in the MAAC behind Quinnipiac.
Senior midfielder Anna Salerno has highlighted their attack all season, notching six goals today to bring her season total to 43.
The Mount showcased why they sit at the top of the MAAC early—jumping out to a lightning-quick 3-0 lead in under three minutes, headlined by two scores from Salerno.
The Red Foxes responded, ripping off a 3-0 run of their own to bring the game to a standstill at three goals apiece. It was all seniors, as Borges netted two and Birckhead added one of her own.
To close the first quarter, the Mount retook the lead on an impressive free-position strike by junior midfielder MK Allingham to move into the second quarter up 4-3.
After an unforced turnover by the Foxes, the Mount streaked down the field to convert on the other end; junior midfielder Hailey Chester scored her first goal of the season to push their lead to two. Birckhead muscled through the defense for her second of the game to bring it back to a one-score deficit.
Soon after, the Marist women’s lacrosse team erupted in celebration after sophomore attacker Kathryn Staker scored her first goal of her collegiate career, knotting the game at five goals each.
“We were all anticipating it, and we knew [her first goal] would come soon,” said Birckhead. “We kept encouraging her to shoot, and it paid off—we were all really happy for her.”
Tavares slotted one in to give the Red Foxes their first lead of the contest, 6-5, capping off their second 3-0 run of the half.
“We have a lot of good energy, and we really trust each other out there, which is really what swung the momentum for us at different parts of the game,” said senior attacker Alana Tavares.
With one second remaining in the half, graduate student attacker Anna McQuay capitalized on a free-position opportunity to re-tie the game 6-6 heading into the break.
Striking first in the second half, Salerno proved why she’s top-five in the MAAC in goals, as the Mount went on a 3-0 run consisting only of her scores. Salerno became the second player in the MAAC to reach 40 goals this season during this dominant stretch.
“She’s a very dangerous player. She can find the ball off-ball, she can carry the ball and find dodging opportunities,” said Marist head coach Keith Detelj. “With good players, you’re going to have to change the way they play as much as you can.”
Mount St. Mary’s was not finished. Graduate student attacker Mackenzi Furlong and senior midfielder Madison Harmening went back-to-back in 18 total elapsed seconds of game time to give the Mount their largest lead of the game at five, bringing the score to 11-6 entering the final frame.
The Mountaineers halted the Red Fox offense, which produced six shots and zero goals in the third quarter. The Mount didn’t let up, adding another quick two goals as they advanced the number of unanswered goals to seven.
“Momentum was the key. We got good looks on shots and didn’t bury them,” said Detelj. “Mount’s a very good team, you have to respect the things that they did, and we were just looking to find that momentum shift for us.”
Marist finally managed to score after twenty scoreless minutes, as senior attacker Madeline Kinney notched her first goal of the season—met with another explosion of morale from the Red Fox sideline.
However, the elation was short-lived, as Salerno buried her sixth goal of the game to widen the gap back to seven, 14-7.
Late in the fourth quarter, Borges earned her hat trick and sophomore midfielder Catherine Windsor scored to cut the deficit to five—but it was too little, too late as the Mount picked up the win, 14-9.
Falling to 2-4 in the MAAC with three games remaining, there’s no doubt that this game was important for the Foxes. Now, outside that top-eight bubble that makes the conference tournament, Marist gears up for Wednesday, when they travel to take on Niagara at noon.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic and photo by Kira Crutcher
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