Marist (4-6-1, 4-1-1) beat Mount St. Mary’s (2-7-2, 2-3-1) 1-0 in Emmitsburg, Md., on Saturday for its second straight win.
Junior forward Margaret Johnson scored the lone goal of the game and now leads the team in goals with three.
This is the third consecutive shutout for the Red Foxes and junior goalkeeper Samantha Graf, who recently earned the Metro Defensive Player of the Week for her performances against Niagara and Manhattan. She only needed to make two saves today to keep the Mount off the board.
This is the longest the Red Foxes have shut out opponents in regulation since 2021, but during that stretch they allowed a goal in double overtime.
Last time out for Marist, they scored three goals in the first half versus Niagara, including a goal from Johnson.
Mount St. Mary’s is coming off their second conference loss, as they lost to first-place Fairfield 2-0.
This game mirrored the strategy that the Red Foxes have taken on this scoreless streak: hold possession and shoot as much as possible. Coming into today, they have averaged twelve shots per game, which ranks sixth in the conference, but over the past three games, they have averaged 21.67, though today saw their most with 29, with 15 on goal.
Though Graf has been a driving force for Marist defensively, she is not the only one making an impact. This game quickly showed that, as in the fourth minute, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer, senior forward Erin Antone, got a run on goal. She was chased down by junior defender Riley Benito, who got in front of her inside the box. The two converged with Graf, who cleared the threat.
The first shot for Marist came from freshman forward Mia Fluckiger in the fifth minute, whose shot from outside the box was saved by redshirt sophomore goalie Abigail Makela. She ranked second in the Metro in saves per game with 6.40, as today was a career day for her with 14 saves.
In the 10th, Marist got their first of what ended up becoming 11 corner kicks. This one led to a shot for sophomore forward Ella Bryan, but she shot it over the goal.
The Red Foxes stayed relentless on the attack in the half, as they had 11 shots in the first, and six were on goal. Makela handled all of them, though, and the game was tied 0-0 at the break.
The Mountaineers had only one shot in the period, and it came off a far-out free kick. The kick missed all players, and Graf caught it for a save.
Marist quickly got the lone goal of the game out of the half. Junior defender Caroline Liptake delivered a corner kick, and Johnson headed the ball past Makela in the 47th minute.
The possession battle was even more lopsided in the second half, as Marist had 16 shots, with nine of them coming on goal. Makela’s career day kept the Mount in it, but they could not get their offense going, as they only had two shots in the second half.
One of the better scoring chances for the Mount came in the 84th minute, as they ran down on a two-on-two, crossed it in, but missed wide on the header. This would not have counted, however, as after review it was determined that they gained possession in their own box before a handball. Bryan was given a penalty shot, but Makela made the stop.
This was the first win for Marist versus Mount St. Mary’s since the Mountaineers joined the Metro in 2022. Before this, they had been 0-2-2, with the two ties in Poughkeepsie last year.
Wednesday is the biggest test for the Red Foxes yet, as they stay on the road to play the undefeated first-place Fairfield Stags at 7 p.m.
Edited by Ryan Eichem
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Michael O’Neil
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