Foxes send off lone senior with decisive win over Griffs

During the last home game of the season, every team always honors its seniors for putting in the years of commitment and dedication. This year's senior night, however, was a little different for the women's lacrosse team. The Red Foxes honored their lone senior, Joanna Maehr, by trouncing Canisius 15-8 on Saturday night at Dietz Stadium in Kingston. Maehr helped lead the team with an all-around effort, dishing out two assists, picking up four ground balls, winning five draw controls, and forcing four Canisius turnovers. Since Maehr is the only senior on the team, "Senior Day" became known as "Joanna Day." Coach Noelle Cebron said that "Joanna Day" was a huge deal for Maehr and the rest of the team.

"Being the only senior on the team is tough," she said. "But all the girls rallied around Joanna and wanted to make it a huge day for her."

Cebron said that everyone helped make it a special day, including alumni, who came to the game wearing "Joanna Day" t-shirts. She could not say enough about Maehr's importance to the team.

"Joanna's a huge asset to the team," Cebron said. "She's been a starter since I've been here, and she's always been reliable. Joanna knows how far the program has come since she got here."

While Saturday was undoubtedly Maehr's day, she was not the only one who stepped up. Junior Ali Carnabuci continued her strong week by netting six goals. Carnabuci was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) co-player of the week, along with Le Moyne's Amanda Keegan, after recording 15 points in Marist's three wins last week. Cebron spoke about how Carnabuci has improved as the season has progressed.

"Ali understands her role and has showed a lot of maturity," Cebron said. "She knows her assignments and understands what needs to be done."

Cebron said the success of Carnabuci's teammates has also affected her production.

"Opposing defenses are zeroing in on [junior] Lindsey Diener and [freshman] Liz Falco a lot, so that allows other players to step up," she said.

Carnabuci opened the scoring just 30 seconds into the game off an assist from Diener. After Falco put Marist up 7-3 with 7:16 remaining in the first half, Carnabuci scored four of the team's next five goals to put the game out of reach for the Golden Griffins.

Junior goalie Liz Burkhard finished with 10 saves, while Falco had another big game, tallying four goals and one assist. They also earned MAAC weekly honors, being named defensive player of the week and rookie of the week, respectively.

The Red Foxes' victory tied the school record for wins in a season with eight. They are 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the MAAC. With a crucial game against MAAC rival Le Moyne approaching, Cebron said she was happy that her team was not caught looking ahead against Canisius (4-10 overall, 1-4 in the MAAC)

"You're always concerned about a letdown, but they stay focused," she said. "They find the motivation to win. This team knows what it's like to lose and they don't want to experience that, so they focus one game at a time."

Marist is tied with Fairfield for second place in the conference and is one game behind first place Le Moyne. The Red Foxes will battle the Dolphins for first place on Friday, April 20 at 4 p.m. at Le Moyne.

"It's going to be a fast game," Cebron said. "We have to capitalize on their mistakes, show our speed, and have everyone step up.