The Foxes were already down 1-0 to Niagara on a chilly Friday night in Poughkeepsie, and the stage was set for them to go down 2-0 in what was a game with huge implications for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament.
Niagara was awarded a penalty kick on what could be considered a questionable call, and keeper Allison Lane was faced with stopping a tough one-on-one shot to keep Marist from falling down 2-0.
The shot came in hard to Lane's left, and out of pure reaction she dove to her left, got her finger tips on the ball which deflected it right into the post. It bounced off the post, out of the net, and Lane dove on it to secure the miraculous, game-saving stop.
"Historically against Niagara, we've had a questionable call (on a penalty kick) just two years ago," Head Coach Elizabeth Roper said. "To not be victim of that again, to the reaction save by Allison was phenomenal…it definitely was a spark plug."
Marist had come out a step behind Niagara and they were feeling the pressure all throughout the beginning of the first half. They went down 1-0 on a goal by Niagara's Stephanie Gartley, and if not for that great save by Lane they would've been down 2-0.
"Niagara had us on our heels a little more than we expected," Roper said.
But after that save by Lane, everyone could sense the momentum swing as Marist was able to start putting on the pressure in Niagara's zone and they started getting off some good scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, right as Marist started to gain momentum, it was halftime.
"The only thing I was concerned with going into halftime was could we keep up the momentum?" Roper said. "We made sure we tightened up a few things (going into the second half)."
Once the second half started, you could tell the Foxes were on a mission. This was a huge game, on their home field, and they would not be denied.
The Foxes finally got on the board when Sophomore Kate Fox scored her eighth goal of the year when she kicked in a rebound just inside the left post. Two minutes later, Marist finally took the lead when Katie Zasly scored off a pass from Maria Baez.
2008 Woodie Awards