Marist Moves Past Canisius to MAAC Final
from press release
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Fueled by a 8-4
second half, third-seeded Marist advanced to the MAAC Championship
game for the third straight year as they upset the second-seeded
Canisius Golden Griffins, 13-11. Junior Lauren Ciccarello (Wantagh,
N.Y.) led the Red Foxes and all scorers with four goals, while
senior Kate Noftsker (Needham, Mass.) added three more goals to
contribute to the Marist offense.
After trailing for the second portion of the first half, Marist
reclaimed the lead with 12:19 to play in the second half on a
Stephanie Garland (Long Valley, N.J.) goal, her only marker of the
game. It gave the Red Foxes am 11-10 lead, their first since 5-4.
Senior Cristin Begley (Brookville, Md.) scored off a Noftsker pass
3:09 later to take a 12-10 lead. Begley’s second goal of the
game capped a 4-0 run for Marist. She had three draw controls to
lead the Red Foxes in the match.
The Golden Griffins cut the lead to one goal at 12-11 when Chelsea
Martinez scored her third of the game; however, the Red Foxes would
respond with a goal of their own to reclaim the two goal margin at
13-11, when Noftsker notched her third goal of the game.
Noftsker’s goal was assisted by junior Erin Wilson (Ada,
Mich.).
Canisius and Marist traded goals for the first five markers of the
match to give the Golden Griffins and early 3-2 advantage with
19:10 to play in the first half.
The Red Foxes then ripped a streak of three consecutive goals as
Ciccarello scored her second goal of the half on a free position
shot with 18:48 to play in the half. Noftsker and Ciccarello would
score during the 1:30 stretch to earn Marist a 5-3 lead with 17:25
to play in the frame.
Canisius responded with four straight goals of its own to take a
7-5 lead with 1:20 to play in the half. Noftsker concluded the
scoring in the first half as she found the back of the net for her
27th goal of the season to pull the Red Foxes within one, 7-6 at
the break.
Senior Carolyn Sumcizk (Syosset, N.Y.) finished the game with a
tied for the team high in ground balls with four along with junior
Morgan Dillon (Freeport, N.Y.). Sumcizk also had two caused
turnovers.
In goal for Marist, freshman Kelsey Thoms (Newark, N.Y.) made seven
first half saves en route to a total of nine saves in her first
career post season game.
Marist will face Fairfield in the championship match on Sunday at
noon. The Red Foxes will appear in their third straight MAAC
Championship game. Earlier in the day the Stags advanced to the
title game as they defeated fourth-seeded Manhattan 20-8 in the
first semifinal matchup.
