For the first time in four years, the Marist men’s lacrosse is MAAC champions and are dancing in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Foxes picked up an impressive 12-8 win over rival Siena, earning their fifth MAAC championship overall—the most by any team in conference history. Marist will play tonight at Tenney Stadium, hosting the Stony Brook Seawolves in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will advance to face No. 1 seed Princeton.
Marist and Stony Brook met earlier this season, when the Seawolves came away with a 14-11 victory. The Red Foxes, however, finished with the better record at 11-4, while Stony Brook finished 10-5.
Marist enters this game scorching hot, winning five straight games and 11 of its last 13 after dropping its first two games of the season. A big part of that success has been its incredible defense, led by freshman goalie Richie Metzger.
Metzger was named MAAC Tournament MVP after compiling 20 saves over two games. He will look to continue his hot play in the NCAA Tournament.
Metzger has had plenty of help in front of him, led by graduate student long pole Aiden McCaffery. McCaffery was named to the All-MAAC Tournament Team and tallied seven groundballs and four caused turnovers. Marist also boasts the nation’s sixth-ranked man-down defense, which has been sensational this season.
On the offensive side of the ball, junior attackman Colin Patrick and junior midfielder Sean Mullan lead the way. Both were named to the All-MAAC Tournament Team and have powered the offense throughout the postseason. Patrick finished with four goals and four assists in Marist’s two MAAC Tournament games, while Mullan totaled six goals. Look for the duo to continue its hot streak against Stony Brook.
For the Seawolves, they are coming off a CAA championship as the No. 3 seed, defeating top-seeded Towson 13-11.
Stony Brook is led by junior attackman Collin Williamson, who has 52 points on 35 goals and 17 assists on the season. Following him is fellow junior attackman Justin Bonacci with 45 points on 29 goals and 16 assists.
Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. under the lights. Marist will look to advance past the play-in round for the first time since 2015 and continue its incredible 2026 run.
Edited by Max Rosen
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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