After defeating Saint Peter’s last week on the road, the young Marist team returned to Tenney Stadium on Wednesday night and grabbed a thrilling 2-1 win over Sacred Heart.
Marist remains undefeated in MAAC play with a 2-0-2 conference record, after winning just three MAAC games last season.
“We have to keep pushing through every single team, every single team is going to be a fight like this,” said sophomore Gabby Tirado.
Marist’s hot start in MAAC play has been powered by its underclassmen; the Red Foxes starting 11 is dominated by underclassmen, with four sophomores and two freshmen. The team’s top three goal scorers are underclassmen, with Tirado now leading the stat sheet with four goals and four assists.
Tirado scored her fourth goal on the season when the Red Foxes needed it the most.
With five minutes left, freshman Mia Katchouni snuck a pass through the Sacred Heart defense to find Tirado, who slipped one past the Pioneers’ goalie.
“The underclassmen excite me; they are great and so fun to watch. They have so much talent, and I do not think they even realize how much potential they have,” said head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano. “They come together really well. I think they all have kind of similar styles of play, we try to be a possession-oriented team, and they just move off each other.”
Tirado recorded an assist in the 30th minute of play on Wednesday, finding the foot of freshman forward Ella Bryan, who sent the ball into the top left corner past two-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Week, junior goaltender Kyra Thievon.
Set up in a 4-3-3, the Marist defense shut down the Pioneers’ offense. Leading goal scorer for Sacred Heart, junior forward Shea Kelleher, obtained no shots on goal in the first half and the team did not create any opportunities inside of the box.
On the offensive end, Marist transitioned the ball up the field, looking for crosses into the corner and getting the ball past the Sacred Heart defense. But with quick transitions, Marist often lacked numbers in the box to finish crosses.
“I want to put the group in the best setup to excel for them”, said Pacapelli Ciano. “I feel like with our group and the personnel that we have, it suits us best inward what we are trying to do. We have some athletic kids out on the wing, we have some better players who are on the ball in the middle of the field.”
In the 59th minute, senior captain Julia Loncar took an accidental hit to the face and left the game, leaving the Red Foxes without their star center back.
“Julia is not even a center back. She didn’t come here as a center back. We converted her into a center back this season because of her leadership, and it has been great for us back there,” said Pacapelli Ciano.
With the defender sidelined, the Marist defense faced high pressure on the Pioneers, and senior goaltender Maddy Catalanotti controlled the box with five saves.
“We definitely owe a lot to our backline, they are just a brick wall back there,” said Tirado.
In the 73rd minute, Sacred Heart set up a free kick around 20 yards out from the goal. Junior forward Lindsay McShea stepped up and fired a shot at Catalanotti, who got her hands on it, making an initial stop and sending the ball back into play.
Senior midfielder Theanna Burnett pounced on the rebound, heading the ball into the back of the goal, tying the game and getting her first goal of the season.
With five minutes left in play, Katchouni received the ball on transition and found Tirado on the break to her left side, where she scored the game-winning goal.
“Being able to find each other’s feet and move off of each other has been paying off,” said Pacapelli Ciano.
The Red Foxes look to continue their undefeated MAAC season on Saturday away against 1-2-1 (4-3-1 overall) Niagara.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photos from Quinn DiFiore
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
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