Marist men’s lacrosse (6-6, 4-2 MAAC) came back from down four goals in the second quarter to beat Manhattan 14-10 and clinch a playoff berth on senior night.
Sophomore midfielder Sean Mullan logged a hat trick and dished out two assists. Junior midfielder Drew Anderson was the other Red Fox to score a hat trick, with three others netting twice.
Mullan’s hat trick makes it four in the season, all of which came in the last five games. Anderson is sitting at three hat tricks on the year, with a four-goal game in a loss at Sacred Heart. Anderson is at 16 goals in his six games after scoring just six in his first six.
“Just play Marist lacrosse, keep going and get to the net,” said Mullan on his mentality.
Marist fired 31 shots on target, ultimately too much for Manhattan (5-7, 3-3 MAAC) graduate student goalie Connor Hapward, who racked up 17 saves.
Senior faceoff man Dylan Bedell won 19 of his 27 faceoffs, dominating the game and helping his team keep possession and work their way back in.
“I take a lot of pride in the preparation,” said Bedell. “We didn’t talk about the playoff implications . . . [We] came out a little slow. The message in the locker room was to get the energy up.”
Marist honored 11 seniors pregame, with all but goalie Bryant O’Donnell starting. O’Donnell did feature, making one save on five shots. Freshman goalie Adam Wacholder continued his strong play, making nine saves on 14 shots.
Noble Smith, Ryan Jones, Bryant O’Donnell, Jake Deacy, Dylan Beddell, Sam Ferrel, Aidan Quinn, Chris Fermo, Sully MacMurphy, William Embury and Aiden McCaffrey made up the Red Foxes class of 2025.
The Red Foxes converted three of their four extra-man opportunities while also shutting out the Jaspers on three chances. Earning and scoring power plays proved key to the Marist win.
Senior midfielder Drew Hiner gave the Jaspers a hat trick and two assists to lead Manhattan in scoring. Senior midfielder Kelly DuPree scored twice on eight shots, with those two Jaspers accounting for half of their team total.
Marist started slow, trailing 3-1 at the end of the first quarter with numerous turnovers and an overall sloppy game. A similar second quarter led to a 6-3 deficit at halftime.
“First half, we came out a little slow, we knew Manhattan was gonna put up a fight,” said Deacy. “Just battle hard and talk about what we need to do to execute.”
“We got to do a lot of skill work . . . Two areas that were weak for us,” said head coach Dave Scarcello. Marist was off last week, giving Scarcello and his staff ample time to prepare for the senior night clash.
Then, things changed. Marist won the third quarter 7-4, tying the Jaspers at a 10 apiece.
Junior attacker Peter Murray, Anderson, senior attacker Jake Deacy, Balcarcel and Mullan scored in a wild third frame. Mullan capped off his hat trick, while Anderson scored his pair.
The fourth quarter was quieter but Marist dominated, scoring all four goals of the period. Balcarcel got his second, Deacy and Anderson scored, and sophomore midfielder Collin Patrick got his only goal of the night. Anderson dove to the net at the end of the shot clock to score his goal and cap a Red Fox offensive surge in the second half.
Patrick, who now sits at 47 points in 12 games, has lit up the leaderboards for Marist, the MAAC, and the NCAA. Tonight’s showing was clear, though: Marist can win when he isn’t on.
”We know we got 7-8 guys on the offensive end that can really turn it up,” said Deacy.
Marist clinched a spot in the MAAC playoffs with this win, moving to 4-2 in conference play. They currently sit one game back of rivals Siena, who they clash with in Loudonville to end the season.
”It’s gonna come down to the guys staying as tight as humanly possible,” said Scarcello.
Marist stays at home for their second-to-last game of the regular season, hosting Merrimack on Saturday, April 19. A playoff spot is already clinched, but the seeding can change. With a win, Marist can move into third place, earning a home playoff game.
Game time for Merrimack is scheduled for noon at Tenney Stadium.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore; Photo from Marist Athletics
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