The Marist Red Foxes started MAAC conference play with a tie to break their five game losing streak to Iona on Saturday night.
The 1-1 result is the program’s third consecutive tie against the Gaels and the freshmen were the ones who pushed this team to score the equalizer, with freshman midfielder Jiji Sweiss finding the back of the net in the 89th minute.
The game was controlled by foul calls, with the Red Foxes totalling 16 and the Gaels 10, allowing Iona to set up shop in favorable territory.
Iona was predicted to finish eighth in the MAAC preseason coaches poll, with Marist two spots behind.
“We came off a tough non-conference and we knew coming back into the MAAC that the MAAC is one of those conferences that is really unpredictable,” said senior midfielder Julia Loncar. “The team who comes in that day and wants to play, whether you’re first in the league or the last, whoever comes in and works that day is going to win.”
Iona’s team features 26 returning players from the 2024 season, while the young Marist team has 19 underclassmen and nine new additions to the program.
“We have a really young team, 19 out of our 28 players are underclassmen and it is hard to get them involved, but it’s really knowing that they are such a big part of the team and they make an impact,” said Loncar. “We got our freshman making big goals so we just have to keep them involved. They are the team now.”
Marist’s defense was tested from the beginning whistle, with the Red Foxes totalling 10 fouls in the first 45 minutes of play.
Unable to hold possession on the offensive side of the ball, Marist was forced into their own defensive end, despite outshooting the Gaels five to three.
“We talk about being a gutty and gritty team,” said head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano. “We want to win our 50-50 battles. We want to be first at every ball, but at the end of the day we also have to be smart.”
As the fouls continued, Iona took 12 free kicks in the first half, finding the back of the net on their 11th free kick attempt. Freshman forward Ava Barker found the feet of fellow forward sophomore Dolene Smith for her second career goal and the second Iona goal of the season.
“I thought there were a lot of fouls unfortunately, I thought we had a lot of silly fouls and I thought they killed momentum,” said Pacapelli Ciano.
The Red Foxes made offensive attempts towards the end of the first half but were unable to hold possession long enough to get themselves on the scoreboard.
Coming out of the half, Marist made continuous pushes into Iona’s box, tallying three shots in the first 10 minutes of play. They ended the game out-shooting Iona 12 to three.
With 20 corner kick attempts so far this season, the Red Foxes have been unable to translate on any of the set piece possessions.
“Set pieces are all about being gutsy,” said Pacapelli Ciano. “They’re all about grit, they are all about being first to the ball, winning our own individual battle. So the more we can do that in practice just like game experience the better we are all going to be.”
With 1:40 left in play, sophomore forward Gabby Tirado took a free kick near the corner, sending it to a guarded Sweiss right outside the box. With the defense surrounding Sweiss, she rocketed one to the close top corner, past Iona goalkeeper Savannah Rogers to tie the game at one—her first career goal.
The Red Foxes close out non-conference play on Tuesday in Poughkeepsie, hosting head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano’s alma mater, New Haven, for the team’s Mental Health Awareness Night.
Edited by August Lieberman
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo via Marist Athletics
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