Marist men’s soccer lost its second consecutive game, and second of the year, this Saturday, falling 2-1 to Niagara. All three goals came in the first half, and the two goalies combined for 21 saves.
Junior goalie Grant Wyles, a transfer in his first year for the Purple Eagles (5-4-0, 2-2-0 MAAC), made a season-high 12 saves; many denied fantastic Marist (6-2-2, 2-2-0 MAAC) opportunities to tie the game.
Junior midfielder Kyle Evans netted his fourth goal of the year, all of which in the last three games, cutting the deficit in half in the 39th minute.
Niagara controlled possession early, dominating play with three shots in ten minutes. They opened the scoring in the 14th minute as graduate student forward Niklas Kneller buried one past graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell. Junior forward Reon Tezuka drove down the field and dished it to Kneeler, who had his initial shot blocked in traffic.
Marist head coach Matt Viggiano went to his bench immediately after, bringing on senior attacker Jonathan Salguero for senior midfielder Skylar Cunha.
It took only nine minutes for the Purple Eagles to double their advantage, and it came from a more unlikely source. Junior midfielder Thomas Brooks had a ton of time on the edge of the box and took the shot, scoring his first of the year and extending his side’s lead.
Kneller almost made it two goals in two minutes for Niagara with an extremely acrobatic bicycle kick, but Lowell was up to the task. Lowell made a season-high nine saves in the match, including a penalty stop late in the game to deny Niagara the clinching goal.
Viggiano went back to his bench in the 30th minute, bringing on freshman midfielder Miles Douglas and freshman forward Eric Moroz in exchange for freshman defender William Salivonchik and sophomore attacker Chris Verheul. Moroz had a strong game, registering three shots and two on target.
Salguero dished it out to sophomore defender Evan Marques on the left side, who then sent a cross in towards the net, where Evans met it and directed it in. Marist trailed at the break but held the momentum and the advantage in shots.
Marist came out of halftime on fire, putting up four shots in quick succession and scaring the Niagara defense, forcing three saves from Wyles. Junior midfielder Arion Ulaj got himself involved around this time, earning his side’s first yellow card.
Niagara struck back right after, looking to halt some of the Marist pressure and potentially grab a third. Graduate student midfielder Landon Hungerford took a corner kick that nearly curved in at the far post, prompting Lowell to jump into action and tip it past.
Moroz received a booking a few minutes later for an illegal slide tackle, and was substituted for Salguero a moment later.
Wyles hit 10 saves with 15 minutes still to play, stopping shots from Marques and junior midfielder Kyle Evans in the process.
Viggiano, with 10 minutes to play, made two big substitutions, bringing on freshman forward Noah Mellen and sophomore midfielder Caio Cavaletti for Douglas and Marques. This sub marked Marques’ first time not finishing a game all season, snapping his consecutive minutes played streak at 890.
The subs, involving two defensive players exiting, almost proved costly as Kneller hit the crossbar with a header two minutes later. Five minutes after that, Salguero stopped Tezuka on a breakaway by Salguero, winning a penalty for his side and delivering Salguero a yellow card.
Tezuka stepped up for the penalty with just under three minutes to play, looking to put the game beyond reach and grab his third of the season. He fired his shot low and left but was outdueled by Lowell, who made a diving save. Lowell was called upon a minute later, denying Tezuka again as time dwindled.
The match finished 2-1 despite massive amounts of pressure from the Red Foxes. Marist put nine shots out of 12 on target in the second half, as well as taking three corners and 12 free kicks; 13 shots on target over a full 90 set a new season-high for Marist.
This loss, Marist’s second consecutive, essentially guarantees they will drop out of the top-25 when the next rankings are announced. The Red Foxes lost 5-1 at home to Fairfield earlier this week while also being ranked 17th in the nation.
Niagara’s win also puts them in the win column against Marist this decade, with their most recent win prior being back in 2019.
The Red Foxes, who now wrap up a three-game stretch in seven days, have 11 days off before returning to action. They host Sacred Heart (5-3-2, 4-0-0 MAAC) on Wednesday, Oct. 15th. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. as Marist looks to reset and snap the skid.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo from Cassidy Connors
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