After the clock expired in the MAAC men’s lacrosse final on Saturday, sticks, helmets, gloves, and hats all launched into the air from Marist. Siena’s players hugged each other and had their hands over their heads following the Red Foxes’ 12-8 victory to earn the fifth MAAC title in program history.
The title is Marist’s first since 2023 and first under head coach Dave Scarcello after Keegan Wilkinson, the winningest coach in program history, guided the program to three MAAC titles in 13 years at the helm.
“He [Wilkinson] left such an unbelievable foundation to show what it takes to win at this level,” Scarcello said.
Freshman goalie Richie Metzger earned the player of the tournament award—he finished the game with 12 saves.
“It’s everything, it’s special to go out there and play the game I’ve been playing my whole life on this stage,” Metzger said.
With the Saints missing their starting goalie, senior Vito DeBellis, sophomore goalie Johnny Carrington made his collegiate debut in net—Siena surrendered nine goals in the first half.
Marist’s nine first-half goals matched their season-high. Junior attack Collin Patrick led the way with a hat trick, while senior attack Drew Anderson and senior attack Peter Murray added two goals each.
The Saints struck first just nine seconds into the contest when senior attack Caden Olmstead put one in the back of the net to put Marist on its heels—but the Red Foxes did not stay down for long.
Marist scored four goals in just over three minutes to take a 4-1 lead. Goals from Murray, Anderson, sophomore attack Brady Dolan and faceoff specialist Josh Smith silenced the crowd of over 1,000.
The Saints finally got the ball away from the streaking Red Fox offense, and junior midfielder Gavin Blenk threw his shot under Metzger’s stick. After a quick start, both teams settled in on defense. Marist used its defense to its advantage, and following a turnover, Patrick found himself all alone to extend the lead to 5-2.
Carrington kept Marist from breaking through again with a save off a no-look attempt from Patrick before Olmstead connected on a sidearm sling to close the quarter at 5-3. Marist doubled up Siena’s shots in the quarter, 14-7.
Senior midfielder Colby LeBlanc gave Siena the start they needed in the second quarter with a score, but its defense faltered as junior attack Sean Mullan notched his first goal of the afternoon. A few minutes later, Siena had a two-man-up opportunity after two Marist penalties, but the Red Foxes’ defense stood tall and forced the Saints’ seventh turnover. Patrick and Murray then scored their second goals to double the Marist advantage to 8-4.
“Our man-down defense all season has just been great,” Metzger said. “We embrace the moment and stay compact as one unit.”
The Saints failed to keep Marist off the scoreboard to end the half. Patrick picked up a loose ball off an Anderson miss and rolled it through to earn a hat trick and a 9-4 lead. As the teams ran to the locker room, Carrington had to be helped off the field—Siena only had one goalie left to put on the field, freshman James O’Hara.
Coming out of intermission, each team struggled to find the back of the net leading to a six-minute drought for both teams. Then, graduate student attack Conor Hufnagel found his way through three Red Fox defenders to initiate a Siena run. Junior attack Patrick Radomski got the crowd back into it, scoring his first goal in four weeks after receiving foot surgery.
After an almost 12-minute drought, junior attack Steven Cain got out in transition and flung in a goal from the right side. Siena countered with a goal from senior attack Travis Fry to trim the lead down to 10-7.
The Red Foxes stayed composed after a slow third quarter, scoring two goals in the span of 37 seconds in the fourth. Mullan got the scoring started, switching to his left hand for his second goal, and Anderson ripped one through to give Marist a 12-7 advantage.
The Saints tried to tighten the screws on Marist. Blenk looked like he got one by Metzger, but after review, the deficit remained at five. Emotions started to boil over for the Saints, as LeBlanc received an illegal conduct penalty for a minute and thirty seconds. Marist did not capitalize, but they drained the clock down to the final two minutes with a five-goal lead.
Olmstead gave the Saints a last-second goal to notch a hat trick before the Red Foxes started jumping up and down on the sidelines as the buzzer sounded. After the celebration, Marist leapt into the stands to celebrate with the Red Fox fans.
“These moments don’t come around very often,” said Scarcello.
The victory earned Marist a trip to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Red Foxes will be watching the NCAA selection show tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. to see where they are placed in the tournament.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic and photo by Quinn DiFiore
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