No. 2 seed Marist men’s soccer’s season ended Thursday night when it was eliminated in the Metro Championship semifinals by No. 4 seed Sacred Heart. The Pioneers took the lead in the 72nd minute off a rebound from junior forward Ivan Morcillo and never looked back, winning 1-0.
“The finality of this sucks,” said Marist head coach Matt Viggiano. “This sport isn’t always fair.”
The Pioneers finished this game with an active 571-minute shutout streak, a remarkable number spanning nearly six-and-a-half games. Their most recent result, a 3-0 home thrashing of No. 5 seed Niagara, extended the run into the playoffs.
Marist, on the other hand, had the week off prior to this game with a bye week, which showed as they started the game slowly. A good second half saw multiple free-kicks and a few decent chances go astray as the Red Foxes couldn’t find an equalizer.
“I thought they were a little better in the first half, and we didn’t concede,” said Viggiano. “But we were clearly the better team in the second half, and we gave up one.”
Both squads carried a four-match win streak into the semis, with Marist’s including its first two home wins of the year. Viggiano has repeatedly emphasized the idea of his team playing its best soccer come November, as well as at home.
“We talked about it at the beginning of the year, about [home] being our fortress,” said Viggiano after his side’s win against Siena, which clinched the No. 2 seed, a home game and a bye.
Junior midfielder Caio Cavaletti forced Marist into an early substitution after coming up with a lower-body injury. Cavaletti has been Marist’s top playmaker this season with eight assists. Redshirt freshman Dylan Gugin took his place.
“To win a championship you gotta be healthy, and you gotta be lucky,” said Viggiano.
Sacred Heart forced the issue early on, as junior keeper Alex Murania had to make four first-half saves to keep it level. He finished with six in the game as his hot stretch of play, which includes a pair of 10-save nights, continues.
“He grew into the year,” said Viggiano. “He was shaky early [in the year], but he took it like a man.”
The Red Foxes, despite having a packed Tenney Stadium crowd behind them, struggled offensively in the first half. Graduate student forward Mani Diop had the team’s lone shot on target, a tame header that freshman keeper Anthony Suarez swallowed up with ease.
Marist had a pair of good free-kick looks in the first part of the second half, but neither chance led to a real shot. Junior forward Chris Verheul’s shot in the 70th minute, which was parried away by Suarez, ended up as Marist’s best chance.
Verheul is now out of college eligibility and finishes his three years at Marist with 17 goals and seven assists in 48 games, all of which he started, including nine goals and four assists this season.
Morcillo’s finish came as a rebound into an open net after a great save from Murania. Senior midfielder Danny Istambouli got credited with the assist, as it was his shot that set up the look for Morcillo. Marist’s defense was ball-watching in the moment as the Spaniard took his chance.
“You got to try and get everybody’s heads up. [I think] the guys really plugged in and tried to push,” said senior defender and captain Ethan Ortiz, who also confirmed he’ll be returning to Marist for his final year of eligibility. “[I’ll] run it back again with this team.”
With a deficit to overcome in limited time, Viggiano went back to a look that he started the year with: junior utilityman Gijs Verheul up top alongside Diop. Verheul began the year as a striker after moving up from defense and midfield last season, but has spent most of the campaign in the backline.
Diop got in behind in the 78th minute, but was swarmed by Pioneer defenders, rendering him unable to get off a shot that posed any threat. Marist challenged a potential penalty with five minutes left to no avail as Sacred Heart held the lead.
Chris Verheul had a good chance to hammer home a volley off a second ball in the Pioneer’s box, but mishit it without putting the shot on frame.
Sacred Heart picked possession back up and tried to take it to the corner, but a high shot from junior forward Brady Poor gave the hosts possession with 150 seconds remaining.
The Pioneers will host No. 6 seed Merrimack in the final on Saturday. The Warriors are on a three-game heater, having beaten No. 3 seed Quinnipiac twice on the road before taking down No. 1 Fairfield in the semis.
Despite a 6-2-2 conference record that ended with four wins in a row and a first-round bye, Marist will be watching the championship game from the couch for a fifth straight year.
Marist had a young squad this year, and Viggiano is confident in his side’s ability to grow from this.
“I hope [the team] use it as motivation.”
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Isabel Cortese
Photo by Michael O’Neil
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