Marist men’s soccer (7-4-3, 3-4-1 MAAC) held a 1-0 lead at halftime on the road at Siena (6-5-4, 5-1-2 MAAC) after junior midfielder Kyle Evans scored just 80 seconds into the match.
Junior forward Lucas Almeida scored two of his side’s three goals in the second half, securing the Saints’ victory. Sophomore midfielder Campbell Stalker assisted the first two goals for the Saints. Junior midfielder Lee Mara scored the equalizer in the 57th minute, putting Marist away for good.
Despite the scoreline, Marist outshot the Saints 18-7, including a 5-5 battle in shots on target. The Red Foxes have outshot their opponents 11 times this season, but are only 5-3-3 in those games.
Evans opened the scoring right away, scoring Marist’s earliest goal of the year. He received a pass from junior midfielder Arion Ulaj and took two touches before firing a shot to the far post past a diving goalkeeper junior Bennet Glinder.
Glinder made four saves in the match, conceding just his third goal in four games.
Marist dominated the first half, pressing the Saints’ buildup and limiting their looks. Siena took just two shots in the first half, with only one needing a save out of graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell. The Red Foxes, meanwhile, put five of their 11 shots on frame.
Siena started the second half well, but did not find an equalizer until a dozen minutes had passed. The Saints then scored thrice in 19 minutes, coming from behind and blowing the game open.
Mara got his after a pass from Stalker, keeping the ball in the middle of the box and using the time afforded by Marist’s defense to pick his side and put it into the far right corner past Lowell.
Marist did look threatening after, but a few squandered chances enabled the Saints to continue to push and find their second goal. Junior midfielder Alejandro Perez Jorda sent a cross in from the right side, finding Almeida all alone in the middle of the box. Almeida turned, took a touch, and beat Lowell to his lower left side for a 2-1 advantage.
Sophomore midfielder Caio Cavaletti then came on in place of senior midfielder Skylar Cunha, looking to give head coach Matt Viggiano’s side a little more in attack. Viggiano spoke to the referee repeatedly throughout the match, as multiple controversial decisions, both calls and no-calls,.
Five minutes after the sub, sophomore midfielder Benjamin Fogarty found a streaking Campbell on the right side, having beaten sophomore defender Evan Marques for pace. Campbell received, took on sophomore defender Evan Marques and delivered a bullet across the box to Almeida. Almeida made no mistake of the chance, beating a scrambling Lowell and putting The Saints ahead by two scores.
Marist battled, garnering a few shots and free kicks as they looked to claw back in, but their energy got sucked out after the Siena third.
Sophomore defender Chris Verheul got a yellow card for backtalk to the ref, and junior defender Ethan Ortiz got one of his own for a jersey pull to stop a counterattack.
This loss significantly damages the Red Foxes’ playoff hopes, who now likely have to win back-to-back games to make the postseason. Marist has not won two consecutive games in a full month, having beaten Lehigh, Quinnipiac and Mount St. Mary’s in a row in September.
Marist hosts Manhattan on Saturday, November 1st, in their second-to-last to last regular-season game kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Edited by Nate Shoemaker
Graphic and Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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