Marist women’s soccer got a big win today in its biggest test of the season, winning 3-2 at Sacred Heart. This win moves the Red Foxes to 2-5 overall this season but 2-0 in the Metro Conference, and hands Sacred Heart (6-1) its first loss of the season.
Marist came into today after a strong showing last weekend, when they defeated Merrimack 1-0 in their first conference matchup. That was the first game of the season for head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano after she returned from maternity leave.
Today was a coming-out party for Marist sophomore midfielder Mia Katchouni. She scored two goals for the Red Foxes, the first two of her career after notching two assists in 19 games last season. The Montreal native has started every game this season.
Before last week’s win, the Red Foxes struggled to find their footing against non-conference opponents, going 0-5 with only two goals scored.
In contrast, Sacred Heart went 5-0 in their out-of-conference slate and continued this strong play in their first Metro game, defeating Canisius 2-0. The Pioneers are expected to be one of the Metro’s top teams this season, as they won the conference tournament last season and were voted to finish second in the preseason poll.
Marist junior forward Arianna Mullin earned her first start of the season in this match after a good performance off the bench last weekend with three shots.
Marist started strong in the first half with two shots in the first two minutes, one by Mullin, which was saved by Sacred Heart’s All-Metro senior goalkeeper Kyran Thievon. Quickly, though, the Red Foxes’ attack was too much for Thievon to handle, as Katchouni shot a ball off a deflection from Thievon at the top of the box and found the back of the net to give Marist a 1-0 lead.
The Red Foxes offense continued its high shot output from last game, where they had 14, with six shots coming in the first 15 minutes of play.
Preseason All-Metro first-team senior forward Shea Kelleher dribbled down the field in the 19th minute and scored her fifth goal of the season, giving her team a tying goal.
Marist junior goalkeeper Samantha Graff made several key plays. One of the most important came in the 25th minute, when a Sacred Heart shot from inside the box made her slide to the right post and deflect it out of play. She made a critical mistake minutes later, however, as she stopped a ball but could not corral it, and Sacred Heart’s senior forward Lyndsey Larpele tapped it in and took the lead.
Marist’s leading scorer entering play was sophomore forward Ella Bryan with three points. 40 minutes into the game, she shot from the top of the box and missed, but the ball found the foot of her teammate, Katchouni, who scored her second goal of the game to tie the game at two before half.
The Red Foxes had not scored a goal in the second half at any point all season until today. That changed in the first ten minutes, as Mullin found freshman forward Mia Fluckiger on a through ball to give Marist the lead in the 52nd minute.
Mullin’s offense has been a key to unlocking success for the Red Foxes this season, as her presence last game helped greatly in Marist’s first win. Today, her offense showed up on the stat sheet, with two assists.
The Pioneers would not go down without a fight in the second. They were able to generate six corner kicks in the half and forced Graff to make several key plays. She made three saves in the half, giving her six on the day. Sacred Heart had eleven total shots in the half, but could not find the back of the net.
The last gasp for Sacred Heart came in the 87th minute, as a corner gave junior Michelle Shoup a shot at the left post, but Graff slid in to make the save, securing the 3-2 win.
Marist travels to Quinnipiac next Saturday for a 12:00 p.m. game as they look to continue stacking up wins in the Metro.
Edited by Ryan Eichem
Photo from Quinn Difiore
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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