POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - On Senior Day on the campus of Marist College, the Red Fox women's soccer team came away with a 2-2 draw versus Canisius, but more importantly with that one point in the standings the team clinched their second-ever MAAC regular season title. Goals by senior Kathryn Hannis (Bloomsbury, N.J.) and sophomore Kylee McIntosh (Cheshire, Conn.) off of assists by sophomore Rycke Guiney (Naperville, Ill.) led the Red Foxes.
Marist got off to an inauspicious start early on as Canisius converted off of a Kelly Reinwald corner kick at 9:46. The MAAC preseason player of the year put a high ball into the box that initially found the head of Adrianna Suk before Jenny Griffin flicked the ball into the back of the net.
The Golden Griffins nearly stretched their lead to two goals in the 19th minute if junior goalkeeper Caitlin Landsman (Burke, Va.) would not have come up with a save on a Brianna Smith volleyed shot.
The Red Foxes finally started playing the brand of soccer that they have been accustomed to playing the majority of this season during the final 25 minutes of the first half. During that span, the team registered eight shots; two on goal, two blocked and one off the crossbar. Hannis was the unlucky shooter of the attempt that rang off the crossbar, as she lofted a high left footed shot.
Of the shots on goal, freshman Jamie Strumwasser (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) took the most threatening attempt at 43:41 as she looped a shot in the nearly snuck in underneath the crossbar before Canisius' goalkeeper Megan Tock punched it over.
Coming out in the second half down by a goal, Marist quickly responded as Hannis took a Guiney in-swinging corner kick and powerfully headed the ball past a sprawling Tock at 49:34.
With the game now tied, each team settled in for a physical battle. Over the next 20 minutes, the teams traded scoring opportunities as Reinwald tested Landsman in the 59th minute, while Guiney put a quality attempt on net in the 70th.
The Red Foxes picked up the offensive pressure in the following five minutes, which eventually culminated with goal number two of the game. From 70:44 to 74:06, the team took four shots and put three on net. After shots on goal by Guiney and junior Jaclynn Sabia (Wayne, N.J.), McIntosh came through with a header goal off of another high, lofted Guiney corner kick at 74:06.
With her second assist of the game, the sophomore midfielder tied the Marist all-time single season mark for assists with eight total. Maria Baez and Keri Koegel previously were tied after collecting eight helpers in 2007. Guiney also moved into a tie for second place with Koegel on the all-time leaderboard with 13 assists in just under two complete seasons as a Red Fox.
Marist was 77 seconds away from securing a perfect home record of 7-0 before Griffin and Reinwald connected off of a corner kick opportunity at 88:43. Reinwald's initial corner was deflected away by Landsman, but Griffin corralled the rebound and shot the ball into the lower right corner of the net.
After 90 minutes, the teams went to extra time in search of a victor. In their first home overtime match of the season, the Red Foxes held a large advantage in scoring chances. Outside of a Reinwald attempt that was blocked by Marist's Chelsea Botta (East Longmeadow, Mass.) in the 93rd minute, the Red Foxes recorded four shots towards goal. In each case, their attempts were dangerous for Canisius; off of a Strumwasser cross Hannis had her header shot stopped by Tock from close on, junior Jackie Frey's (Monroe, N.Y.) volley attempt flew wide and sophomore Samantha Panzner's (Livingston, N.J.) header hit the top of the cross bar.
The second overtime period consisted of quite a few less scoring opportunities, in fact Marist registered the only shot. Similar to its predecessors in the first overtime period, this chance was dangerous as well. Off of a cross by Botta over Canisius' goalkeeper and defense, Guiney saw her header attempt go just wide to the left.
After 110 minutes of action, Marist and Canisius finished with a 2-2 draw. Due to results amongst fellow MAAC competitors on Sunday afternoon, the Red Foxes were able to clinch the MAAC regular season title and number one seed in the upcoming MAAC tournament, which will be held in two weeks at Loyola.
For the game, Marist outshot Canisius 28-11 and held an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Red Foxes were also able to register seven more corner kick opportunities at 10-3 than the Golden Griffins.
Landsman finished the contest with four saves.
Marist closed the 2011 home portion of their schedule with a 6-0-1 record.
The Red Foxes will complete their regular season next Saturday, Oct. 29 in an afternoon matchup at Siena. Opening kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
