POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Marist men's lacrosse team opened MAAC play in strong fashion on Saturday afternoon, pulling away for a 16–9 victory over Mount St. Mary's at Tenney Stadium.
The Red Foxes controlled the game from the opening whistle, scoring four times in the first quarter and never trailing on their way to the conference-opening victory. With the win, Marist improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in MAAC play, while the Mountaineers fell to 1-5 (0-1 MAAC).
Marist's offense was led by
Steven Cain, who recorded a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists.
Brady Dolan added a strong outing with four goals and two assists, while
Collin Patrick chipped in three goals and an assist as the Red Foxes generated 56 shots and 34 shots on goal.
The Red Foxes jumped out early, taking control in the first quarter with goals from Dolan, Cain, and
Peter Murray before Dolan struck again in the closing seconds to give Marist a 4–0 lead after one. Marist continued to push the pace in the second quarter, scoring five more times—including two goals from Cain—to stretch the advantage to 9–0 at halftime.
Mount St. Mary's attempted to rally in the third quarter with three goals in a short span, but Marist responded quickly. Patrick and
Luke Walser each found the net during the run to keep the Red Foxes comfortably in front heading into the final period.
Defensively, Marist was solid throughout the afternoon. Goaltender
Richie Metzger made six saves while allowing nine goals in the win, and the Red Foxes held advantages in ground balls (38–20) and shots (56–26).
At the faceoff X,
Josh Smith helped Marist maintain possession, winning 13 of 22 draws and collecting five ground balls.
The Red Foxes will be back in action on Saturday, March 14, when Marist travels to take on Merrimack at 1 p.m.
