BRONX, N.Y.- On Sunday morning the Marist men's soccer team played Manhattan to a 2-2 draw. The Red Foxes picked up a point and stayed ahead of seventh place Niagara and will be the sixth seed going into the MAAC Tournament in Orlando.
Marist took an early lead less then four minutes in when Shareif Ali (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) rebounded his own Penalty Kick attempt and scored. The goal was the senior's fifth of the year.
Manhattan tied the score in the 20th minute when Stephen Van Rossem scored from 35 yards out.
"We lacked some energy today, and we allowed them into the match when we had it under control. We had them down but gave them life and that hurt us," Marist Head Coach Matt Viggiano said.
Jamison Allegra (East Haven, Conn.) put the Red Foxes up 2-1 in the 63rd minute when he was able to head in an Ali cross. It was Allegra's fourth goal. The Marist men would hold the lead until the 86th minute when Van Rossem was able to score his second goal of the match.
Marist was out shot 19-10 on the day. Tom DeBenedetto (Paramus, N.J.) was in net for the Red Foxes. The rookie was in because of a pre-game injury to captain Daniel Owens (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.).
The Marist men will be off until the MAAC Tournament. The tournament starts on Thursday, November 15th, but the Red Foxes will not play until the 16th. They will play Fairfield in the tournament quarterfinals.
"We got a point on the road and that's a plus. We also got the bye into the quarters that we were looking for," Viggiano said.
"I think we need to take a deep breath and re-charge a little bit after the weekend," added the head coach. "We have had our backs against the wall all year and when we have faced must wins we have done pretty well."
