Marist men’s soccer picked up its first win of the season in a 4-1 win on the road against Saint Mary’s (1-4-0). Senior defender Ethan Ortiz scored in the 6th minute to give the Red Foxes (1-1-2) the advantage, which they didn’t relinquish.
This game was Marist’s first on the road after three home games to open the year, in which they finished with two draws and a loss and failed to score in the final 232 minutes of total action. Ortiz’s early goal, a header off a corner by junior midfielder Caio Cavaletti, ended that streak before three other Red Foxes found the back of the net.
“You want your front group to be free-flowing; it’s how you score goals,” Marist head coach Matt Viggiano said earlier this week.
Each team scored early in the second half, but Marist secured the lead with two goals in the 80th and 85th minutes, taking a 4-1 advantage.
Pregame, Viggiano made a switch in net, opting for freshman keeper Gavin Mitlitski over junior Alex Murania, who started the Red Foxes’ first three matches. Mitlitski was competent in his career debut, even with the penalty, finishing with just one save.
The opening 25 minutes were largely controlled by the visitors as Marist created a few decent chances in the Gaels’ defensive third. Graduate student defender/forward Mani Diop nearly linked up with junior forward Gijs Verheul to create a goal, but was denied by freshman keeper Nathan Peeler, who made his first career start in this game after 45 minutes of action in a 5-0 loss to Wisconsin a few weeks ago.
Saint Mary’s engineered a few looks in attack and finished the first half with six shots, but forced just one save out of Mitlitski. Although they failed to create, the Gaels did successfully agitate, winning nine fouls in the first 45 minutes alone. None were enough to warrant a booking as both teams stayed caution-free into the break.
Besides Ortiz’s header and Diop’s one-on-one denial, the Red Foxes only took one shot, which didn’t test Peeler. Marist was also caught offside on three separate occasions in just the first half, a rare occurrence for the side that was charged with just one such offense in the three games prior.
The Red Foxes got started quickly in the second half as well, with Diop converting a close-range header in the 47th minute. That 2-0 lead didn’t last for long, though, as Saint Mary’s won a penalty a moment later.
Ortiz fouled freshman midfielder Cyrus Shafie in the box, and Gaels’ sophomore midfielder Cameron Kobey stepped up and slotted home the spot kick.
It took 30 minutes of back-and-forth action for the next goal to come. Junior striker Chris Verheul got on the end of a cross from his fellow Dutchman, graduate student midfielder Gijs Velings, and sent a rocket into the far post in the 80th minute. This two-goal lead did hold, and Marist moved into the win column for the first time this year.
Sophomore winger Adriano Iannello grabbed the fourth for Marist with a beautiful finish. He dropped the defender with a masterful skill move and sent his shot right past the diving Peeler.
“Now that [Iannello] is back, it opens up different things for us. I’m just trying to put our guys in the best position,” Viggiano said in an interview earlier this week.
The Red Foxes ended up in the book more times than they put a shot on goal in the second half. Graduate student midfielder Gijs Velings and freshman defender Cole Caviness both got yellow cards, as did assistant coach Rob Esposito.
Marist’s first three goals came off the end of crosses, with the first goal being from a corner and the other two coming from close-range passes clipped across the box. Iannello’s late goal was crafted beautifully to secure the win.
After controlling the shooting in the first half, Saint Mary’s did not test Mitlitski in the second half aside from the early penalty. The Gaels did take five more shots, but were ultimately outscored in both frames.
This match is one of a pair of West Coast games for Marist, which takes on San Francisco on Monday.
“It’s good to go on a trip as a group and bond; they’re ready to beat up on somebody else for sure,” said Viggiano earlier this week.
Monday’s kickoff against San Francisco is set for 4 p.m. EST.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
Photo Marist Athletics
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