Five second-half goals, and seven in total, created a thriller on Saturday night as Mount St. Mary’s (1-2-4) beat Marist (2-2-3) 4-3. The two sides were knotted at half before trading five goals in the second 45 minutes, with the Mountaineers scoring the decider.
The Red Foxes are now winless in five games at home this year.
“You can’t lose that game. You go up 3-2…that’s a team that scored three goals the whole year and then they drop four on us tonight,” said Viggiano. “We need to have more resiliency, we need to be harder on the ball.”
Marist led after 26 minute, although the match was tied at the break. Five goals, the first four of which were split evenly among the two programs, marked a frenzied second frame as junior midfielder Abou Cherif scored the winner in the 82nd minute.
“The prettiest team doesn’t always win in this sport,” said Marist head coach Matt Viggiano.
Marist generated the majority of the chances in the first half, doubling the Mount’s shots and shots on goal totals (8-4 and 4-2, respectively), while also taking five corners. The first big chance came just six minutes into the game when a Cavaletti free-kick from just outside the box nearly found the head of Diop. The ball fell to Chris Verheul, who couldn’t get a good shot off.
The Red Foxes kept the pressure up, with junior defender Evan Marques nearly opening the scoring just a few minutes later. The Mountaineers’ first real chance came in the 11th minute courtesy of Cherif, but he was denied by freshman keeper Gavin Mitlitski. Cherif had another look in the 15th minute, but a sliding challenge from senior defender Ethan Ortiz thwarted his opportunity.
The Cavaletti and Verheul link-up broke the game open in the 26th minute as Cavaletti found acres of space inside the box to pick out his spot and capitalize on the opportunity. That goal marked his fourth goal contribution in as many games, as he entered the match with an assist in three straight contests.
Diop got in behind the defense just a moment later, but sophomore keeper Ryan Collins made the save and kept the game at 1-0.
Mount St. Mary’s sent this game into the break level after Bauer dinked a shot past Mitlitski and into the back of the net with under five minutes to go in the half. Junior defender Noah Kaiser sent a very long, over-the-top pass beyond the Red Foxes’ defense, but Bauer got there first.
Neither Marist nor the Mount created much at the start of the second half, but it was junior forward Morales Silva who finally woke the crowd up after the halftime lull. Bauer’s corner from the left side sailed over everyone’s head but the scorer, who was left alone with plenty of time to find the net.
Mount St. Mary’s almost took the lead a moment later, again courtesy of Bauer, but Mitlitski made a fantastic diving stop to push the ball onto the post and out of the net.
Diop scored yet another second-half tying goal in the 72nd minute, sending the crowd, full of rowdy kids from the LaGrange Youth Soccer Club, into a frenzy.
Marist took the lead just four minutes later as Chris Verheul deposited a close-range tap-in into the net.
The 3-2 home advantage didn’t hold, as Silva scored for the second time, and Bauer got his second assist and third goal contribution of the game in the 79th minute. Four goals split evenly inside a wild dozen minutes of play.
“We’ve got to rely on guys who’ve been here for it. There’s enough players on the field that have been here enough,” said Viggiano. “Take a deep breathe and calm things down.”
The tension continued to rise, and it was Cherif who finally got his goal. His shot beat Mitlitski, who finished the night with three saves, in the 83rd minute. Five goals inside 16 minutes; pure end-to-end chaos.
Marist was finally left without a response as the match finished 4-3, giving Mount St. Mary’s its first win of the campaign. The Mount has gone six games winless to open the year in three straight seasons, but has won their conference opener all three times.
“We’ve got to win our home games,” said Viggiano. “It’s frustrating, but we gotta find a way to be better.”
Marist now gets 11 days of rest before its next game, when they travel to Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart. Kickoff on September 30th is set for 7 p.m.
“[The players] are going to work for the next 11 days,” said Viggiano.
Edited by August Lieberman
Photo via Marist Athletics
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