POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Marist men's soccer team used a second-half goal by freshman Tudor Brata (Baia Mare, Romania), the first goal of his collegiate career, to defeat Siena by a score of 2-1 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match at Tenney Stadium on Wednesday night.
During the first half, Marist put heavy pressure on Siena's defense. A long ball from Tony Carreras (Valley Stream, N.Y.) sent Brata on a fast run towards the goal, but his left-footed shot was saved by Siena's Adam Myers. Marist continued to attack, and in the 23rd minute, a corner kick from Matty Berman (West Orange, N.J.) from the left side of the goal connected with freshman Dylan MacVane (Middlegrove, N.Y.) to put Marist on the board. It was the first goal of MacVane's career.
Siena answered less than three minutes later. A foul allowed for a penalty kick from James Beeston, who converted in the 25th minute to tie the score at one apiece.
Junior Dylan Lee (Hopewell Junction, N.J.) led the Red Foxes as they continued to attack the goal. A cross from Berman found Lee at the top of the goal box and he shot the ball low to the left, but Myers was able to hit it out of bounds. Lee also ran up the middle of the box near the end of the half, and got another shot off, but missed just wide to the right.
With 15 seconds left in the half, Siena had a chance to take the lead. A corner kick from Tom Allen was placed in the center of the box, but MJ Stellwag (Newburgh, N.Y.) headed the ball out, and the half ended with the score still tied, 1-1.
The second half was a back-and-forth contest, with both teams playing many long balls. Marist attempted to add another goal in the 54th minute of the game with a shot by Steven Arraiano (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) from the top left of the box, but he missed high. Less than a minute later, a cross from Lee found Brata in the box, but Siena's Matt Needham blocked his shot. In the 59th minute, Carreras made a run up the right side of the field. Carreras kicked a nicely placed low cross, which Brata ran up to and followed into the goal, making the score 2-1.
The Saints had their fair share of shot opportunities, but were unable to convert. David Itoafa hit the lower right post with a shot in the 64th minute. In the 69th minute Nathan Olukanmi broke away and got off a shot near the right side of the goal, but missed wide. Near the end of the half a shot from Needham went just wide, and with 40 seconds left in the game, a 30-yard shot from Lewis Davenport missed high.
The Saints outshot the Red Foxes in the second half 7-4, but were unable to capitalize on their attempts, so the score remained 2-1 in favor of Marist. Sokalski's strong performance of five saves in goal also played an important part in the win.
The Red Foxes improved their MAAC record to 2-5 and now stand at 3-12 overall. Siena fell to 2-4-1 in MAAC play, and is 6-8-1 overall.
Marist will next play Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 2. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
