Marist men’s soccer (4-2-4, 2-1-1 Metro) continued its domination of Canisius (1-9-1, 0-4-1 Metro) on Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, winning 3-1. The Red Foxes led early but went into the half tied before junior forward Chris Verheul scored twice in the second half. Verheul now has six goals on the year, all of which have come in the last six games.
This match featured a number of big chances and goals that both counted and were disallowed. Each team had a goal disallowed in the second half while also rattling the crossbar, and Canisius forced junior goalkeeper Alex Murania into a few big saves.
This is Marist’s sixth consecutive win over the Golden Griffins, and its seventh straight positive result on the road against Canisius. The Buffalo-based program has struggled not only this year but throughout nearly all of the last 10 years; Canisius’ lone win this year came against Division III St. John Fisher, while the Golden Griffins’ most recent winning season came in 2017, when they went 12-4-4 and set a program record for wins in a season.
Marist’s road dominance against Canisius, which dates all the way back to the first year of the Obama administration, is just a continuation of the Red Foxes’ pattern of road dominance this season. Marist is 4-0-0 on the road, having scored 12 goals while conceding just three.
The visitors got on the board early behind an 8th-minute goal from sophomore winger Adriano Iannello. Iannello’s goal, his third of the year, was a slight dink of a shot to finish off a beautifully played through ball from junior midfielder Caio Cavaletti. Cavaletti’s six assists this season lead the team and put him just three away from tying the program’s 5th-most in a single season.
Cavaletti played well despite only playing 27 minutes in this one. He’s previously battled an ankle injury but did not seem injured while on the field despite the low minutes total.
It took 11 minutes for the Golden Griffins, who’ve scored just six goals in 10 games against Division I opponents this season, to level the match. A cross from sophomore defender Larry Jimenez caused chaos in the box, and Marist failed to clear. Murania’s dive couldn’t stop the attack, and senior defender Gael Arceo converted the chance.
The two sides traded weak attacks before the first half ended 1-1.
Both teams shook the crossbar quickly in the first half; junior defender Gijs Verheul nearly scored from way out for Marist, while Jimenez beat Murania but couldn’t put it within the confines of the net.
Junior forward Romero Nicolazzo, who leads the Golden Griffins in scoring, forced Murania to make a big save in the 57th minute to keep his side from trailing. Nicolazzo thought he had scored a few minutes later, though, but his goal was disallowed because he was offside.
Chris Verheul’s first goal came at the hour mark after the Golden Griffins failed to clear the ball out of the box. Sophomore forward Ronan Hogg, who got the start in place of the suspended graduate student striker Mani Diop, was credited with the assist.
Hogg seemed to have bagged a goal of his own a dozen minutes later, but a replay review took it off the board. Verheul avenged his teammate, though, with his second goal of the game. The Dutchman was alone in the box and took aim to double the lead with the help of a deflection.
The two familiar foes combined for 33 shots, with Marist’s 18 leading the way. Only nine of those 33 were on target, though, as Murania’s four saves proved critical.
This win moves Marist into fifth place in the Metro, while Canisius is still hanging out at the bottom. The Red Foxes now face six games in the next 21 days, with a road match against Fairfield on Wednesday being their next test.
Kickoff against the Stags, who are 4-0-0 in Metro play, is set for 6 p.m.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
Photo by Michael O’Neil
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.