Marist men’s soccer was cruising for 65 minutes away at Fordham, going up 3-0 and dominating the game. The Rams (2-2-1) then proceeded to score twice in two minutes, changing the game completely. Marist (2-0-1) scored again and held on, earning their second win of the season and staying undefeated.
The Red Foxes opened the game quickly, with junior midfielder Arion UIaj scoring a header off a pass from sophomore defender Evan Marques. Marques is already halfway to surpassing his point total from 2024 (5).
Fordham looked very slow waking up for this one, allowing 11 shots, three of which were on frame, in the first 32 minutes. Building on their fast start, junior midfielder Kyle Evans found the head of sophomore defender Gijs Verhuel and doubled the Red Foxes’ advantage.
The subs then came for head coach Matt Viggiano’s side, with senior striker Jonathan Salguero having already replaced Ulaj. Freshman midfielder Miles Douglas came on for his debut, senior defender Aidan Arber and sophomore midfielder Caio Cavaletti all entered the game. Sophomore striker Chris Verhuel, senior midfielder Skylar Cunha and freshman attacker Adriano Iannello were all taken off.
Halftime came and went with Marist leading in most categories. They held the advantage in shots (15-7), shots on target (5-0), and corners (4-2) as well as some stats you don’t want to lead such as fouls (8-4) and yellow cards (2-0; Ulaj 5’ and freshman defender Will Salivonchik 20’). Fordham’s goalkeeper, junior Leo Perelman, had three saves at the break of his season debut.
Chris Verhuel and Evans both received yellow cards 15 minutes into the second half, continuing the game’s trend of Red Fox aggressiveness.
Cavaletti then expanded Marist’s lead, looking to put the game beyond doubt with just under a half hour to play. Just like the goal against Stony Brook, Chris Verhuel and Iannello ended up with the assist.
In the 67th minute, the Rams woke up. 2024 A-10 midfielder of the year, senior Daniel D’Ippolito, scored against Marist for the second year running. Senior defender Jack Sias was credited with the assist, his first of the year and fourth of his career. D’Ippolito, meanwhile, bagged his second goal and fourth contribution of the year.
A minute after, and two minutes after re-entering the game, senior forward Andre Insalaco secured his first goal of the year and cut the Marist lead down to one. A team that had been coasting after halftime was suddenly strongly on their back-foot and fighting to hold on. The Rams continued to battle, outshooting Marist 6-1 over the next ten minutes.
The match began to wind down, with Fordham really controlling play. In the 86th minute, Gijs Verhuel netted his second of the game, doubling his season total from the previous year. Salguero was credited with the assist, his first of the year.
Marist then held a two-goal advantage again, this time with just five minutes to play. That would be enough as they held on and got their second consecutive win over Fordham.
The Red Foxes stay on the road for their next two games, travelling to the University of Albany on Tuesday, September 9th as Marist looks to stay unbeaten. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm.
Edited by August Lieberman
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo via Marist Athletics
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