LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Women's Soccer seeks to surge into the postseason when the Saints host I-87 rival Marist in the regular season finale Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Hickey Field.
 
Kelly O'Donnell and Salko Kanic have the call of the matchup on ESPN+. The Saints will be raising awareness for mental health at the game by wearing green bows as part of The Hidden Opponent initiative. Green, the color of hope and renewal, is also the color of mental health awareness. Fans attending the match are encouraged to wear green to show their support for the cause.
 
Winners of three straight and unbeaten in five of their last six (4-1-1), Siena (9-7-2, 6-3-2) would secure the No. 3 seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships with a victory over Marist (3-10-3, 4-6-2), coupled with a Canisius loss vs. Niagara (4 p.m.). The Saints would be the No. 4 seed with any other outcome. Regardless, Siena will host a MAAC Quarterfinal Sunday at Hickey Field in what will be the program's first postseason appearance in three years.
 
But first, Siena needs to take care of business against a Red Foxes squad which needs a win and some help to secure a MAAC Tournament berth of their own. Marist enters the final day of the regular season in a three-way tie for ninth-place in the MAAC Standings, one point behind Sacred Heart which currently holds the eighth and final MAAC Tournament berth.  
 
The Saints enter the regular season finale playing their best soccer of the season on both sides of the ball.
 
Offensively, the combination of Megan Stowell and Catherine Rogers currently rank 2-3 in the MAAC in scoring with 22 and 21 points, respectively. They are the first Siena duo in 14 years to post 20-plus point seasons. The reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year, Stowell has scored in each contest during the three-match win streak.
 
Meanwhile, the Saints have tightened the screws on defense as the year has worn on, and have bequeathed just two goals spanning their past five matches, highlighted by three clean sheets. Named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago, freshman Cate Burns anchors the back line with six shutouts on the season to go along with a stellar 0.81 goals against average and .806 save percentage.
 
With a win Wednesday – in addition to possibly securing a higher MAAC Tournament seeding while heading into the postseason with the momentum – Siena can also reach some team milestones. A victory would deliver the Saints the program's first double-digit win season in six years (11 wins in 2018), while also matching the program single-season benchmark with seven MAAC victories (2004, 2016).
 
The Red Foxes arrive in Loudonville desperate for three points as they look to keep their postseason hopes alive. Marist has been shutout in losing each of their past two contests, and has failed to score in 10 of their 16 matches this fall.
 
The I-87 rivals are set to meet for 35^th time, with Siena leading the all-time series 18-13-3. The Saints are undefeated in 11 of the past 13 matchups (9-2-2) beginning in 2013, punctuated by a 4-0 victory in Poughkeepsie last season. Then-freshman Abby Daly delivered her first collegiate brace in what was the largest margin of victory by either side in series history.