Siena Women's Soccer continues its quest for the program's third MAAC Championship when the third seeded Saints travel to I-87 rival and No. 2 seed Marist for a semifinals showdown at 7 p.m. in Poughkeepsie. The match will be webstreamed online at MAAC.TV.
 
Tickets can be purchased in advance online or at the field and are priced at $10 for adults, and $5 for seniors, students, and children. On-site social media updates will be provided throughout the day from the @SienaWSoccer twitter account. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACSoccer.
 
The winner of Thursday's match will advance to the MAAC Championship Match on Sunday. Top-seed and regular season champion Monmouth hosts No. 4 seed Niagara in Thursday's first semifinal at 5 p.m. The MAAC Championships Match will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following today's semifinals contests.
 
Siena in the MAAC Championships (19^th Appearance)
Record: 11-14-2
Championships: 2 (2010, 2015)
Away: 2-2-1
Semifinals: 4-8-2
As No. 3 seed: 3-2-1
Vs. Marist: 3-2
 
Siena is making its 19^th MAAC Tournament appearance and program-record sixth straight. The Saints have captured the program's first two MAAC Tournament Championships over the previous nine seasons, winning their first title the last time they were the No. 3 seed in 2010, before making history as the first – and to date only – No. 6 seed to claim their second title in 2015. 
 
Siena leads all league members with nine MAAC Tournament victories dating back to 2010, while posting a solid 9-4 record over that time. The Saints had previously accrued just a 2-10-2 mark in MAAC Tournament action over the program's first 18 seasons in the league. Following Sunday's MAAC Quarterfinals victory, Siena has now won at least one conference tournament match in four of the past six seasons.
 
The Saints are making the program's fourth consecutive MAAC Semifinals appearance and 15^th overall. Siena holds a 4-8-2 all-time record in MAAC Semifinals matches, having previously advanced to the tournament final in 1996, 2006, 2010, and 2015.
 
Siena is 3-2-1 all-time as the No. 3 seed overall, and won the program's first MAAC Championship the last time they were seeded third in 2010. The Saints are an even 2-2-1 all-time in true road MAAC Tournament matches, including a victory here in Poughkeepsie as the No. 6 seed vs. third seeded Marist in the 2015 MAAC Quarterfinals to kick off the program's run to its most recent championship.
 
Siena is fresh off a 2-1 overtime victory in the MAAC Quarterfinals Sunday vs. No. 6 seed Quinnipiac. Freshman Emily McNelis scored both goals, registering the match-tying tally in the 48^th minute, and the game-winning golden goal in the 96^th minute of the first overtime to make head coach Steve Karbowski a winner on his birthday. It was just the second time ever in which the Saints hosted a MAAC Tournament match, and first time on Siena Field. The No. 3 seed Siena battled No. 2 Fairfield to a scoreless tie before falling 5-4 in a penalty shootout in the 2008 MAAC Semifinals at the predetermined site of the adjacent Siena Turf Field.
 
The Series With Marist (30^th Meeting: Siena leads, 15-12-2)
The Saints hold a 15-12-2 advantage all-time over their I-87 rivals as the programs prepare to meet for the 30^th time this evening. Marist snapped Siena's seven-match unbeaten streak (6-0-1) in the series with a 2-0 victory in the regular season matchup between the squads just 15 days ago here in Poughkeepsie. The win marked the Red Foxes' first in the series in more than six years since Oct. 6, 2012.
 
The teams battled for more than 83 scoreless minutes on Oct. 17 at Tenney Stadium before Marist scored twice in just 1:59 in the waning moments. Katey Samarro and Nicole Sasso each scored for the Red Foxes, while Abigail Renaud made four saves. Taylor Dorado stopped five shots for the Saints which set new program team and individual shutout streaks of 513:27, prior to Marist's two late strikes. Both teams attempted 11 shots apiece in an evenly played match.
 
Siena and Marist are set to meet for the sixth time in the MAAC Tournament, with the Saints holding a 3-2 edge. The squads are matching up in the postseason for the second straight year, third time in four seasons, and fifth time since 2009. Three of the first five meetings came in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, with the Red Foxes earning wins as the lower seeded team in both 2005 and 2009. Fourth seeded Siena secured a 1-0 win over No. 5 seed Marist in last year's quarterfinals in the Sunshine State. The Saints' first two MAAC Tournament victories over Marist kicked off the program's runs to their first two MAAC Championships in 2010 and 2015. Ironically, tonight marks the three-year anniversary to the day of Siena's 1-0 triumph over Marist here in Poughkeepsie in the 2015 MAAC Quarterfinals, in which then-freshman and current senior captain Meghan Riccardi scored the decisive goal. The lower seeded team had won each of the first five postseason meetings, prior the Saints' victory as the higher seed last year.
 
Scouting Siena (10-7-3, 6-2-2)
Siena finished the regular season third in the MAAC after being projected third in the preseason coaches' poll. However, the Saints took a circuitous route to fulfilling their 2018 prognostication.
 
Siena both started and ended the regular season strong, with a challenging stretch sandwiched in between. The Saints kicked off their 2018 slate with a victory over Big East foe Seton Hall to fuel a 3-1-1 start, marking the program's best run to open a season since beginning the 2010 MAAC Championship year a perfect 12-0. Siena then slumped in failing to secure a victory over its ensuing seven matches (0-5-2), while scoring a total of just two goals. But the Saints bounced back with a dominant month of October to enter tonight's semifinal showdown playing their best soccer of the season. Siena enters tonight's match following a 7-1 October, in which they outscored their opponents by a combined 12-3 margin. The only loss during the month came here at Marist. The stretch was highlighted by a four-match winning streak, marking the program's fourth straight year with a late-season winning streak of four or more. The Saints secured their third straight season with at least six regular season conference victories and, with Sunday's quarterfinals victory over the Bobcats, notched the program's seventh 10-win season overall in the past 11 years, and second straight.  
 
Siena's strength has come from an outstanding defense which has tied a program single-season record with nine shutouts (2015). The Saints rank second in the MAAC in both teams goals against average (0.86) and clean sheets, and tied for the conference lead (Monmouth) allowing just three goals over 10 regular season league matches. Both Siena and Dorado established new program team and individual shutout streaks of 513:27 earlier this month, which were punctuated by a program record four straight shutouts.
 
Dorado and the defense were honored for their outstanding play, with three members of the backline earning All-MAAC honors Tuesday. Dorado became the third player in program history to be named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year, joining Noel Cox (2002) and Taylor Booth (2014). Also named a First Team All-MAAC selection, Dorado tied her own program single-season record this fall with four MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors, which also increased her program career total to eight weekly awards. She has tied both the program career (19) and single-season (eight) records for shutouts this fall, while ranking second in the MAAC in shutouts (29^th nationally), saves (100 – 22^nd nationally), and save percentage (.862 – 23^rd nationally), and third in goals against average (0.85). The junior currently stands second in program history in career goals against average (0.97), tied for second in both wins (28) and save percentage (.831), and fifth in saves (250). Starting outside backs Madi Belvito and Amanda Holtzman were both named Second Team All-MAAC honorees. Freshman striker Ashleigh Sarafin was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, marking the 18^th consecutive season in which Siena had at least one freshman receive MAAC All-Rookie Team acclaim.
 
The Saints have been paced by a balanced offensive attack this fall, with nine different players combining to score the team's 19 goals. McNelis now leads the team with nine points following Sunday's outburst, and is followed closely by fellow underclassmen in sophomore striker Jayanna Monds and Sarafin who have totaled eight points apiece.
 
The Saints have continued to exhibit a flare for the dramatic this season, with three more overtime victories punctuated by Sunday's OT win over Quinnipiac. Siena enters today's match with an impressive 8-2-3 over the program's last 13 overtime contests.
 
The Saints are under the direction of Karbowski, who is in his milestone 20^th season leading the program. The 1993 Siena grad has amassed a 183-155-37 (.537) overall record including a 99-66-21 (.589) mark in the MAAC. The winningest coach in program history, Karbowski has led the Saints to the program's first two MAAC Tournament Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances over the past nine seasons (2010, 2015). Over his first 20 seasons at the helm, he has now guided Siena to 14 MAAC Tournament appearances, ten seasons of 10 or more wins, and .500 or better records in 14 of the past 16 years.
 
Scouting Marist (9-7-2, 7-2-1)
Projected to finish seventh according to the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Marist went 7-2-1 in conference play to finish second overall and post its best league record since 2012, as first-year head coach Leigh Howard earned BSN Sports MAAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
The Red Foxes are making the program's fourth straight MAAC Tournament appearance. Marist advanced to the MAAC Championship Match in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012, capturing the program's lone tournament title in 2011.
 
In addition to Howard, Sasso was named a Second Team All-MAAC selection, while Kristen Prevosto and Anna Davies each earned MAAC All-Rookie Team acclaim. Alexa Svensson leads the MAAC and ranks 26^th nationally with eight assists, while Renaud stands second in the conference with a 0.77 goals against average over 12 appearances in goal.