PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – In its first official competition since November 2019, the Marist men's soccer program triumphed in a 1-0, season-opening win over Saint Joseph's on Thursday evening at Sweeney Field.
The victory is the Red Foxes' first since November 10, 2019 after Marist did not play in the 2020-21 season. The Hawks also played their season lidlifter.
Graduate forward
Kyle Galloway suited up for the Red Foxes for the first time after transferring from Rutgers and scored 11 minutes into the game for the difference. Senior goalkeeper
Samuel Ilin recorded the shutout with four saves against 12 shots faced.
Junior midfielders
Stefan Copetti,
Joe Mac, and
Liam Salmon shared the team lead with two shots apiece.
Three Hawks also had a team-high two shots: Aidan Watkins, Omry Perel, and Alex Hartmann. Goalkeeper Lars Haavie registered four saves.
- After junior midfielder Antek Sienkiel placed the first shot of the game on goal in the opening minutes, Copetti broke free down the right side, but his shot was turned away off a sliding save from Haavie.
- In the 11th minute, after senior midfielder Skylar Conway was dispossessed inside the box, Galloway recovered the loose ball, turning at the top of the box and tucking the shot in the bottom-left corner.
- About seven minutes later, a quick transition opportunity for Saint Joseph's resulted in a 20-yard shot from Watkins, which was rocketed above the crossbar.
- Streaking down the field in the 27th minute, Perel raced into the box for a 10-yard blast, but Ilin worked right to bat the attempt.
- With six minutes remaining in the first half, Ilin punched away an outswinging corner kick. The Hawks settled the ball, but a shot was redirected into the air, forcing Ilin to leap up to snag the ball.
- Saint Joseph's threatened Marist's lead with multiple opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the stanza, but were flagged offside on multiple occasions.
- Following the latest transgression, the Red Foxes were awarded a free kick. Junior defender Henrique Cruz laced a bouncing ball into the box that Haavie had to corral.
- Copetti had two dangerous chances within five minutes, firing two shots near the right corner that barely went wide of each post.
- Ilin knocked down a bouncing ball from Aidan Watkins in between Copetti's attempts for his third save of the evening at the time.
- In the 78th minute, the Hawks earned a corner kick, but Marist blocked two cross attempts to prevent a shot on goal.
- Salmon placed a shot on net inside the box, but Haavie was there for the save in the 82nd minute.
- The Hawks' Tevin Lessey found a header off a corner kick in the 84th minute, but it trickled wide right. Moments later, Mac found space for a 15-yard attempt, but it was blocked by a defender before it found the keeper.
- Though Saint Joseph's held the 12-10 edge in shots, Marist had the advantage with five shots on goal.
- The Hawks generated 11 corner kicks, compared to two for the Red Foxes.
- Salmon sustained Marist's lone yellow card in the match, while Saint Joseph's was carded twice.
- Six Red Foxes played the full 90 minutes: Ilin, Cruz, senior captains Just Scharf and Huib Achterkamp, junior defender Bernardo Gracindo, and redshirt junior defender Demarre Montoute.
- In addition to his third shutout in a Marist uniform, Thursday marked Ilin's second with Marist against Saint Joseph's. He previously beat the Hawks on September 14th, 2019.
- Galloway is the first Red Fox to score a goal in both his first game at Marist and the season opener since Christian Curti found twine as a freshman against UAlbany in 2018. Galloway notched two goals and four assists in his Rutgers tenure.
- Five of the Red Foxes' starters made their first appearances in a Marist kit: Scharf, Cruz, Gracindo, Galloway, and Montoute.
- Sophomore midfielder Justin Rodriguez and freshman forward Richard Morel also made the debuts off the bench.
- Marist has now won three straight vs. Saint Joseph's, dating back to 2015.
- The win is the first for Marist Athletics in the 2021-22 athletic year.
"(I'm) so happy for our guys tonight. After such a long layoff, we persevered and got a gutsy win on the road. We will definitely learn from this game and look forward to watching this group evolve this season." - Head Coach Matt Viggiano.
- The Red Foxes continue their four-game road trip to start 2021 with a matchup at Navy on Sunday, August 29th at 4 p.m.
