POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist women's soccer team is set to host an important pair of MAAC games this weekend. Sitting atop the MAAC standings with a 5-1 record and 15 points, the Red Foxes are looking to secure two more conference wins and to possibly clinch a postseason berth to the league championships. This weekend the team will entertain Niagara at 7 p.m. this evening and Canisius at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Sunday also marks the final home match for the Red Foxes this season and Senior Day for Kathryn Hannis, Mariah Downey and Amanda Cardona.
Last Time Out: The Red Foxes split a pair of conference games last weekend and ended with a 1-0 overtime win over Loyola. In a hard-fought game that saw Marist control most offensive categories, a set of passes amongst Rycke Guiney, Samantha Panzner and Amanda Epstein manufactured the game-winning goal in the 94th minute.
Guiney started the play with a high cross deep into Loyola's box, where Panzner received the pass and quickly bicycle kicked the ball over her and the goalkeeper's head to a waiting Epstein, who headed the ball into the back of the net.
Caitlin Landsman stopped four shots in her fifth victory and third shutout of 2011.
2010 Meetings: Last season the Red Foxes split the road matchups in their Western New York road trip. On Oct. 15, the team fell to Niagara 1-0 behind a goal in the eighth minute. Outside of the scoreboard, Marist held advantages in all of the other statistical categories; 20-8 in shots, 6-3 in shots on goal and 8-3 in corner kicks. Two days later on Oct. 17, the team posted a 3-1 win over Canisius. Jaclynn Sabia led the three goal second half charge with two solo markers. Hannis notched the third Marist goal.
Scouting Niagara: The Purple Eagles come to Poughkeepsie with a 6-8-0 overall and 4-1-0 MAAC record. In their lone game last weekend, a Breanna Catipovic goal led the team to a 1-0 win over local rival Canisius. Gabrielle Wilson stopped three shots for the clean sheet.
As a team their 19 goals rank them fourth in the MAAC, while their 1.94 goals against average is eighth best.
Individually, Catipovic leads the Purple Eagles with six goals and 13 points, both of which are top ten in the MAAC. Kayla Picanco (4g-1a-9p), Catherine Meyer (2g-3a-7p) and Laura Kimoto (2g-4p) join Catipovic as multi-goal scorers. In net, Wilson has a 6-5 record with a 1.51 goals against average and .783 save percentage.
Scouting Canisius: The Golden Griffins are coming off of a 1-0 loss to Niagara last weekend and have lost their last two MAAC games. Prior to the Niagara game, Canisius (8-6-1, 3-2-0 MAAC) fell to Rider by a 5-1 score.
Offensively in the MAAC, the Golden Griffins are tied with Marist in the second position with 24 goals in 15 games (1.60 average). Defensively, their goalkeepers have posted a 2.01 goals against average.
Individually, Kelly Reinwald is living up to her MAAC Preseason Player of the Year billing as she leads the Golden Griffins with nine goals, eight assists and 26 total points. All three statistical totals rank her second in the MAAC. Jenny Griffin (4g-2a-10p), Maria Nelms (4g-1a-9p) and Brianna Smith (3g-1a-7p) are other players on offense for the Red Foxes to pay attention to. In goal, Caroline Robert has started 14 of her team's 15 games and has posted a 8-5-1 record with a 1.82 gaa and .774 save percentage.
Marist versus the MAAC:
Through nine weeks of action (Oct. 17) here is where the Red Foxes rank amongst their conference competitors:
Marist ranks ...
#2 in points - 70
#2 in goals - 24
#2 in assists - 22
#2 in goals against average - 1.05
#3 in shutouts - 5
#1 in home attendance - 872 fans per game
Amanda Epstein ranks ...
#1 in game-winning goals - 6
T3 in points - 19
T3 in goals - 8
Rycke Guiney ranks ...
#3 in shots - 55
T5 in assists - 5
T6 in points - 17
#7 in goals - 6
Jackie Frey ranks ...
#6 in shots - 35
T9 in goals - 5
Samantha Panzner ranks ...
T8 in assists - 4
Caitlin Landsman ranks ...
#1 in goals against average - 0.59
T2 in save percentage - 0.818
T3 in shutouts - 3
Andrea Wicks ranks ...
#8 in goals against average - 1.60
T10 in shutouts - 1
Marist versus the Nation:
Amongst NCAA Division 1 competitors:
Amanda Epstein ranks ...
#5 in game-winning goals - 6
#81 in goals per game - .533
#98 in points per game - 1.27
