Marist (3-13, 2-5 MAAC) failed to find the back of the net in the first quarter while Niagara (7-9, 4-2 MAAC) took advantage leading to a 14-5 win for the Purple Eagles.
Taking charge for the Purple Eagles’ offense, freshman attack Micheala Delles fired five goals and junior midfielder Maddy Gill had three goals.
The Red Foxes offense only converted on five shots, but junior midfielder Jesse Manger was a bright spot with two goals and one assist.
Niagara quickly got on board in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals coming from Gill, freshman midfielder Avery Olschefskie and sophomore attack Olvia Ng. Their scrappy defense didn’t allow any goals in the first quarter from the Red Foxes, marking the first time in conference play Marist didn’t score within the first 15 minutes.
Early in the second quarter, Marist finally found the back net to cut the Niagara lead to two when Manger ripped a goal just above the stick of freshman goalie Haley Terry. After Marist’s first goal of the afternoon, Niagara had two effective possessions resulting in goals from senior midfielder Jaclyn Crane and freshman attack Lily Harris.
Sophomore Attack Kathryn Staker lasered a strong accurate shot for her second score goal of the season cutting the lead down to 5-2 for the Red Foxes. The Purple Eagles extended their lead back up to four at the end of the half when Dallas scored her 30th goal of the season.
Sophomore goalie Megan Morris saved 12 of the 18 Niagara shots in the first half, good for a .667 save percentage.
Despite a break at half, the Purple Eagles picked up right where they left off scoring three quick goals to extend their lead up to seven. Delles and Gill both scored their second goals of the day. The third goal came from sophomore attack Emma McGuigan when she somehow split the Red Fox double team for her first goal of the season.
Sophomore attack Caitlin McNaboe tried to turn the momentum in the Red Foxes’ favor as she broke through the Purple Eagle’s defense for Marist to cut the lead to six. However, the Red Fox momentum was short-lived, as Delles answered back for the Purple Eagles en route to her sixth hat trick of the season.
Marist’s leading goal scorer sophomore attack Anne Shine finally found her footing, shooting a shot right over the outstretched arms of Terry to cut the lead down to four. Despite the goal, Red Foxes couldn’t stop Delles from scoring back-to-back goals, extending the lead to 12-5.
The fourth period was more of the same for the Niagara offense. Ng and Gill both scored in the quarter, which put the game away leading to a 14-5 Purple Eagle win.
The contest had major playoff implications; with the win, the Purples Eagles clinched a playoff berth and will now look to defend their MAAC championship. Marist will need a win and a Canisius loss in order to clinch the No. 8 seed. They shift over to a must-win game against Fairfield, the No. 2 team in the MAAC, returning to Tenney Stadium on Saturday for a 4 p.m. face-off.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo from Kira Crutcher
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