April 24, 2006

Final Stats

Kingston, N.Y. - The Marist women's lacrosse team dropped a heartbreaker to MAAC rival Manhattan, 12-10 this evening at Dietz Stadium. The loss marks the end of the Red Foxes' season while the Jaspers will continue on to the upcoming conference tournament. Marist sophomore Lindsey Diener (Nanuet, N.Y.) and freshman Kate Noftsker (Needham, Mass.) each added five points to lead the Red Foxes' offense, but the Jaspers kept the Foxes at bay long enough to pull out the win.

The Red Foxes came out of the gates on fire, taking a 3-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Diener set the tone early, winning the opening draw and scoring an unassisted goal at 29:20. It did not take long for Noftsker to get on board, converting a free-position goal just 26 seconds later before Diener tallied her second of the day at 26:43.

Manhattan won the ensuing draw and started to settle down, scoring back-to-back goals to cut the Marist lead to 3-2 at 20:22. The Foxes responded with a pair of goals themselves as Diener assisted Noftsker at 15:58 and Noftsker in turn dished it off to classmate Stephanie Garland (Long Valley, N.J.) just 26 seconds after. With Marist up 5-2, the Jaspers rallied to go on a 4-0 run that included a pair of goals by Lauren Civardi. Molly Pheterson ended scoring for the half at 1:39, giving Manhattan a 6-5 advantage at the break.

The Jaspers increased their lead to 7-5 at 27:38 in the second when Jenny Carman had an unassisted goal. Noftsker and Diener got back to work for Marist, however, scoring back-to-back goals to tie it at 7-7. After Noftsker fired a rocket on a free-position shot at 25:30, the Jaspers mounted an attack, but Marist goalkeeper Liz Burkhard (Wantagh, N.Y.) made a big save to get the ball back for the Foxes. Noftsker cleared the ball through the midfield and fed it to Diener who spun through the Jasper defense to score.

A 7-7 tie at 23:32 was as close as Marist would come for the balance of the game, as the Jasper offense rallied to score three straight goals for a 10-7 lead at 18:58. However, the Red Foxes did not back down as Garland and sophomore Val Amodeo (Northport, N.Y.) each scored on free position shots just over two minutes apart, cutting the lead to 10-9 at 12:48.

Manhattan's Alicia Psillos scored off a pass from Erin Warren at 10:23 to increase her team's lead to 11-9. Psillos won the ensuing draw control, but Marist freshman defender Jesse Viamari (Longmeadow, Mass.) forced a turnover and fed the ball to Diener up the field. Diener found classmate Jessica O'Brien (Wantagh, N.Y.) who scored at 9:44 to get the Foxes back within one, 11-10.

It was a back-and-forth battle during the next 10 minutes of play and the Red Foxes were unable to capitalize on some late offensive opportunities. Psillos struck again for the insurance goal with just 33 seconds left, clinching the 12-10 victory for the Jaspers.

Marist's Burkhard finished with 13 saves in goal along with six ground balls and four caused turnovers while Manhattan's Ashley Devins made 10 stops.

Diener ended with five points on three goals and two assists along with three ground balls, three caused turnovers and three draw controls. Noftsker alsoadded three goals and two assists along with six ground balls and four draw controls.

The Red Foxes ended their season at 5-11/3-4 MAAC while the Jaspers improved t 7-8/4-3 MAAC.