After their worst loss of the season, Marist women’s soccer (5-7-1, 5-2-1) went to Buffalo today and defeated Canisius (5-7, 2-5) 2-0.
Last time out, Marist surrendered its most goals of the season, giving up five against Fairfield in a 5-1 loss. That loss was exemplified by two mistakes that led to a 3-1 deficit, as a handball and a foul led to goals off a penalty and a free kick.
Saturday’s goals were products of the Red Foxes’ new attacking style. Both came off rebounds that Canisius freshman goalkeeper Alexa Turmel saved but could not catch.
The first of these came in the fourth minute, when two of Marist’s leading point-getters, graduate forward Marissa Foster and junior forward Arianna Mullin, had a 2-on-1 run at goal. Mullin dribbled and took the shot from inside the box herself, but Turmel saved it, and Foster finished the rebound for an easy goal, giving Mullin an assist.
With that goal, Foster tied junior forward Margaret Johnson for the team lead in goals with three. She is now first in points as well with seven, as she notched an assist earlier in the season. Saturday was her second straight start, after coming off the bench in her previous two games.
In the second half, the Red Foxes scored in similar fashion. In the 65th minute, junior midfielder Julia Oliveria shot from just outside the box on the left side. Turmel saved it again, but it deflected toward the middle, where sophomore midfielder Riley Mills found it and kicked it through for her first goal of the season.
Junior goalkeeper Samantha Graf had another strong day, making five saves for her fifth shutout of the season. Graf and the Marist defense have now shut out four of their past five opponents. She was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week for her play in the stretch before the Fairfield game.
Canisius has had a disappointing year. They were projected to finish fourth in the Metro, the spot Marist held coming into today, but sat at 10th before losing today. They defeated Marist last season to end the Red Foxes’ year in the conference tournament, 1-0.
The Griffins have now been shut out in three straight games, all losses. They had lost to Quinnipiac and Siena before Saturday.
A midseason change in strategy has helped Marist go 3-1-1 in its last five games. The Red Foxes average 13.92 shots per game this season, but they have averaged 20.34 over their last four, which would rank second in the MAAC. They continued that trend Saturday, taking 19 shots, 13 of them on goal.
The change in strategy has helped the Red Foxes on defense as well as offense. Staying on the attack has let Marist keep possession for most of each game, which gives opponents fewer chances to score. That has shown in the results: Marist has shut out four of its last five opponents.
Head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano did not travel with the team to Buffalo for today’s game. She missed the first five games of the season, all nonconference games, after the birth of her daughter. The team went 0-5 in that stretch. For games Pacapelli Ciano has missed, assistant coach Mackenzie Hanna has stepped up to lead the team. She now has her first NCAA win.
Marist enters the final stretch of Metro play looking to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. With four games remaining, the Red Foxes now look forward to Saint Peter’s at Tenney Stadium next Saturday at 7 p.m.
Edited by Tommy Jacobellis
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Michael O’Neil
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