POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - In a game in which the Marist Women's Soccer team controlled the time of possession, scoring chances and statistics, the breaks of the game unfortunately did not go the way the hosts would have like in a 2-1 decision in favor of Loyola on Sunday afternoon in the finals of the 2012 MAAC Championships. Junior Rycke Guiney (Naperville, Ill.) led the Red Fox offense with eight shots, three of which were on goal and two off of the crossbar.
The opening 20 minutes involved strong midfield play, as neither side was able to establish much of a presence offensively; the teams registered one shot each.
The third-seeded Greyhounds (12-5-4) finally broke through on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute when they drew a foul in the box. Gigi Mangione converted the penalty kick to take the 1-0 lead.
Marist (15-7) would begin to gain significant standing in Loyola's defensive third over the next 22 minutes and finally started getting strong scoring opportunities. From 34:18 through the end of the half, the Red Foxes would register six shots.
Guiney was the leader of Marist's attack as she took four of her team's shots. In the 35th minute, she tested Loyola's goalkeeper Didi Haracic with a 40-yard free kick. Less than a minute later, the strong-legged junior had an even better chance denied by the cross bar as her curling free kick clanked in above Haracic. The crossbar would deny Guiney one more time in the half when her shot in the 43rd minute floated clear above the keeper and directly into the right upper 90 bracing.
Unable to convert any of their nine shots, Marist would go into the halftime break down 1-0. After 45 minutes, the Red Foxes had outshot the Greyhounds 9-3 with a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal.
In the second half, the Red Foxes picked up their pressure even more in search of their first goal. Over the first 12 minutes of play in the period, Marist registered four shots.
In the 65th minute, Loyola registered its first-non PK shot on goal of the game as Nichole Schiro put a soft header on net to sophomore keeper Andrea Wicks (East Northport, N.Y.).
With the Red Foxes placing the majority of its effort into scoring the game-tying goal, Loyola was able to convert a quick transition tally in the 73rd minute as Mangione slotted a ball from the right corner to Schiro, who scored on a one-timer shot.
Down 2-0, Marist never gave up and kept driving and testing the Greyhounds' defense. In back-to-back possessions, Guiney and freshman Alysa Murphy (Douglassville, Pa.) played crosses into danger that would end up just inches ahead of their intended charging targets.
Finally in the 76th minute off of a Guiney corner the Red Fox pressure caused chaos for Loyola as the Greyhounds' Kelsey Rene put an errant header into her own goal.
Over the final 14 minutes, Marist kept plugging away as five times the team had shots. The Red Foxes' best opportunity to tie the game was in the 86th minute off of a Samantha Panzner (Livingston, N.J.) corner kick. After the junior lofted a high, looping cross into the box, senior captain Chelsea Botta (East Longmeadow, Mass.) outleapt her defender and put a header shot on goal. Unluckily for Marist, the MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year made the save.
Try as they might, the Red Foxes would see their hopes of winning back-to-back MAAC Championships quelled by the Greyhounds, as Loyola held on over the closing minutes of the game for the 2-1 victory.
For the game, Marist outshot Loyola 19-7, with a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Greyhounds were called at nearly a 2-to-1 ratio in fouls at 15-8. Wicks finished the contest with three saves.
After the game, the trio of Guiney, Botta and Amanda Epstein (Jericho, N.Y.) were named to the MAAC All-Tournament team for their outstanding play during the Semifinal and Final action.
The Marist Senior Class of Chelsea Botta, Jessica Arabia (Naperville, Ill.), Melanie Rigo (Huntington, N.Y.), Caitlin Landsman (Burke, Va.), Jackie Frey (Monroe, N.Y.), Jaclynn Sabia (Wayne, N.J.) and Nicole Kuhar (Oceanview, N.J.) finished their career with 46 wins, the most-ever in a four year span in program history.
