Maierle's Game Winner Powers Rider Past Marist
MAAC Sports
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – Freshman forward Heather Maierle’s unassisted goal in the 59th minute proved to be the game winner as the fifth-seeded Rider University women’s soccer team upended fourth-seed Marist College 2-1 in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship.
The Broncs advanced to the semifinals and will face top-seeded Monmouth University, which defeated No. 9 seed Canisius College 1-0 in the other quarterfinal round. Rider and Monmouth will face off at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday in a game that will broadcast by ESPN3.
For Maierle, it was her first collegiate goal, from about 30 yards out at the 58:53 mark. All three of the match’s goals were scored in a 3:12 span in the second half.
Freshman Caroline Healy put Rider on top 1-0 at the 55:41 mark, when she took a pass from Maierle after a corner kick by freshman Hollie Kelsh.
Marist came back to tie the score at 57:04 when Rycke Guiney scored on a deflection off the goal post on a shot by Amanda Epstein, who took a feed from Jessica Fanelli.
That set the stage for Maierle’s game winner. The victory for Rider avenged a 5-0 regular season defeat by Marist.
Vanessa Perdomo and Bethany-May Howard split the goal tending duties for Rider, now 9-7-1. Perdomo played the first half, while Howard play the second half and made four saves. Marist outshot Rider 11-9, but the Broncs had six shots on goal while Marist had five.
The loss ended Marist’s season at 8-10-2.