NEW YORK, N.Y. - In a hard fought non-conference road game on Sunday afternoon the Marist women's soccer team (5-4) came up just short versus Columbia University (3-3). The more skilled and offensive team throughout the majority of the contest, a late first half goal by the host Lions held up as the only score of the game as a last second scoring attempt by Amanda Epstein (Jericho, N.Y.) was denied on the goal-line by a Columbia defender. The sophomore forward led the team with three shots on goal.
The first half began with a Columbia feel to it in the early stages as the Lions had a dangerous corner kick in the second minute, which was punched away by Andrea Wicks (East Northport, N.Y.) and back-to-back shots towards goal in the fifth minute. The first strike was blocked, while the second was nabbed by Wicks.
After the initial Columbia rush, Marist got into the offensive swing of things as crisp ball movement set up its first scoring opportunity. Right midfielder Samantha Panzner (Livingston, N.J.) started the drive to goal with a cross from the wing into Marjana Maksuti (Delmar, N.Y.), who flicked a header onto Epstein; Epstein then took down the ball and fired on net where Columbia goalkeeper Grace Redmon made the save.
Senior defender Melanie Rigo (Huntington, N.Y.) also got into the action offensively, as twice she controlled Columbia clearing attempts after corner kicks and quickly turned the ball around with strong strikes on goal. The speed and accuracy of both of her shots nearly caught Redmon off-guard.
The turning point of the game occurred in the 45th minute of play as a series of Columbia passes along the left side of the field culminated with a cross into box where a diving Natalie Melo sniped a shot past Wicks at 44:06.
In the second half, Marist pressed offensively throughout looking for the equalizing goal. They nearly tied it up within six minutes of the kickoff as Rycke Guiney (Naperville, Ill.) placed a high corner kick into the box where Maksuti got a strong header attempt on it, but pushed it just high of the goal.
In the 60th minute, all of the effort to tie the one-goal game almost went for naught as Columbia's Shannon FitzPatrick broke through the defense and went one-on-one with Wicks, who dropped down and made the stop with a diving kick save.
After re-grouping, the Red Foxes were back on the offensive attack as they would record 10 shots over the final 20 minutes. Alycia Cartica (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.), Chelsea Botta (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Jessica Arabia (Naperville, Ill.) all registered multiple shots during this stretch of play. Of note, Cartica's shot on goal in the 82nd minute was dangerous as she received a through ball over the top from Guiney and chased it down before hitting a strike into the charging Redmon.
The Marist pressure all climaxed in the final 10 seconds of the game as freshman Alysa Murphy (Douglassville, Pa.) controlled a loose ball near midfield and quick fed it into the goal box where Epstein received it, quickly maneuvered around the goalkeeper and shot towards the net only to have her attempt denied by a Columbia defender on the goal-line with four seconds remaining on the clock.
The final seconds would run off the clock as Marist looked to convert its corner kick opportunity.
For the game, the Red Foxes outshot the Lions, 15-11 and had more corner kicks at 5-4; both teams recorded six shots on goal. Wicks made five saves in goal for Marist.
The Red Foxes will next be in action at home on Friday, Sept. 21 versus Binghamton at 7 p.m. The game will be the team's annual "Pink Out" match.
