Marist men’s soccer held a lead for 82 minutes but conceded with 20 seconds on the clock as Manhattan (4-8-3, 3-4-2 MAAC) salvaged a 1-1 draw.
Junior midfielder Kyle Evans scored in the eighth minute, and the Red Foxes (8-4-3, 4-4-1 MAAC) led until freshman midfielder Henry Reinhart found the net.
“It never feels good going down in the last seconds of the game, the way the game is, it’s really crucial knowing you were the better team for 90 minutes minus 15 seconds,” said senior midfielder Skylar Cunha. “Now we just go and fight on Wednesday and hopefully results go our way.”
This draw sets up a final day with everything to play for, as 12 MAAC teams play on Wednesday, Nov. 5, to decide two playoff spots. Marist currently sits in seventh – the top six teams advance to the postseason – and need two of Quinnipiac, Niagara and Manhattan to drop points. The Purple Eagles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Marist, having beaten the Red Foxes 2-1 earlier in the season.
Marist honored its five seniors and graduate students before the game in the annual senior game ceremony. Senior attacker Jonathan Salguero, senior midfielders Cunha and Aidan Arber, graduate student defender Liam Evans and graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell make up this year’s senior class.
“I spent a lot of time with Skylar and Johnny; they’ve given their heart and soul to the program,” said head coach Matt Viggiano.
Salguero played the through ball that led to the opening goal, hitting junior midfielder Arion Ulaj in stride after Ulaj won possession. Ulaj crossed into Evans, and Evans took the chance, beating senior goalkeeper Ludvig Målberg.
Marist dominated the opening half, shooting twelve times with five hitting the target, forcing Målberg to make four first-half saves.
The Jaspers were dealt the only yellow card of the first half when junior defender Paul Abbatiello pushed Evans in the back in a delayed challenge. On the Marist side, sophomore striker Chris Verheul missed the match due to yellow card accumulation. Verheul earned his fifth yellow card of the season in Marist’s loss to Siena, resulting in a one-match suspension.
Sophomore defender Evan Marques generated two big chances for Marist out of the gate in the second half, having one shot saved and another, after a pass to Salgeuro, missed. Marques, a typical left-back, has been getting a lot of time at left wing recently, with Viggiano moving freshman attacker Adriano Iannello further down the field.
“We haven’t been winning. Sometimes you gotta change things up,” said Viggiano.
The second half provided a paradox of action, as there were simultaneously few meaningful actions and 45 minutes of end-to-end drama. Marist took only three shots in the second half, while the Jaspers surpassed their first-half total with six. Manhattan also reversed the corner kick tally, getting five of its own while blanking Marist.
A back-and-forth second half ended up benefiting the visitors, who capitalized on a Marist team tired from 82 minutes of defending a slim lead.
“I said it at halftime, ‘if we get a second one, the game’s over,” said Viggiano.
Manhattan won a free kick near the corner on the right side, away from the vision of both the head referee and assistant referee. Abbatiello put the ball in a dangerous position and Reinhart sent it past Lowell.
“I’m tired of the officiating this year. It’s an absolute joke,” said Viggiano. “It’s gone against us, it hasn’t evened out…if there’s any justice in this world, we’re not done and we go get [a win] on Wednesday and we’re in the playoffs.”
The final day of conference regular season games sees Marist travel to Jersey City, New Jersey, to take on the Saint Peter’s Peacocks.
“The guys will come together on Monday and Tuesday… we play for 90 minutes again and get into the playoffs where we belong,” said Cunha.
The Peacocks are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but this draw for Marist requires them to win. Saint Peter’s, who lead the all-time series 12-11-0, look to play spoiler.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
Photo by Cassidy Connors
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