In what felt like true fall weather at Tenney Stadium, Marist women’s soccer (3-6-1, 3-1-1) defeated Niagara (6-3, 3-2) 3-0 in a dominant win to jump the Purple Eagles and take second place in the Metro Conference.
After failing to convert on their offensive opportunities last game in a 0-0 draw against Manhattan, an offensive onslaught saw goals from sophomore forwards Ella Bryan and Margaret Johnson and graduate student forward Marissa Foster.
“Honestly, we had the same type of opportunities. I think we just talked about being intentional, making sure we hit frame,” said Marist head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano.
Last time out, Marist had 21 shots, though only four of them were on net. Today, they shot 15 times with 11 being on target.
Niagara has been one of the biggest surprises of the Metro this season; coming into tonight, they sat at third in the conference at 3-1, while they were picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Purple Eagles have been led by breakout junior forward Caitlyn Gratton, who is second in the conference with eight goals on the season.
Marist started the game attacking and never looked back. Junior forward Ariana Mullin ran down by the Niagara net in the first thirty seconds, forcing a corner. She then shot off the pass and missed over the net, but the scoring chance proved to be the first of many.
In the 10th minute, Niagara fouled Marist on the left side to set up a free kick about 25 yards from the net. Junior defender Caroline Liptak took the kick and found the right foot of Bryan to go up 1-0.
“[Liptak] was taking the free kick, and she’s very consistent with her free kicks, so I just kinda knew the right spot to be,” said Bryan.
Niagara tried to respond quickly as they drove down the pitch two minutes later, and freshman midfielder Naiya Johnson, who is third in the conference in assists with four, got in front of Marist defenders for a shot. She shot, and the defenders blocked it; the ball came back to her, and she shot again and found the back of the net to seemingly bring the game back even. After review, the referees determined that the ball hit Johnson for a handball, nullifying the goal.
Later in the first half, sophomore midfielder Jiji Sweiss found Foster on a through ball past the Niagara defender. Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Poissant came out of the goal area, but Foster shot it past her to put Marist up three in the first thirty minutes.
Foster had three shots on goal tonight, tying her season high against Holy Cross.
“I was just hungrier today, honestly,” Foster said. “It was a night game under the lights, my favorite time to play and especially seeing how many opportunities we were getting, I was like, ‘got to get one on frame.’”
Niagara has been one of the best defensive teams in the conference through the early season, as they entered with the third-fewest goals allowed at eight. Marist provided much more of a challenge; Possiant made seven saves, over three more than her season average, but still let three slip by.
In the second half, the Purple Eagles tested Marist junior goalkeeper Samantha Graf, getting three shots on goal. She took care of all of them and has now recorded a clean sheet in back-to-back games.
“Shutouts are just as hard as scoring goals. I think it’s a testament to them putting that on display, and it’s not just the back line and [Graf]; they’ve done a great job, but I think the whole team in general has really stepped up,” said Pacapelli Ciano.
The Red Foxes did not spend as much of the second half on attack, only getting off four shots, but the lead they had built meant they did not need to.
Marist will go on the road next Saturday to Emmitsburg, Maryland, to face Mount St. Mary’s at 12 p.m.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Joe Coppola
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