Canisius started MAAC play at home last Saturday, playing Rider to a 1-1 draw at home. Sophomore Alex Grattarola scored his second goal in as many games when he put the Blue and Gold up 1-0 in the game’s 62nd minute. Rider, the defending MAAC champions, answered with a goal in the 68th minute to force the game into overtime. The Rider game was Canisius’ second-straight overtime contest. Leading into the Manhattan game on Saturday, the Griffs are 3-1-1 in their last five outings.
The Griffs’ defensive efforts have been strong this season, with the team allowing just eight goals in the first nine contests of the year. Dating back to last season, the Canisius defense has held its opponents to two-or fewer goals in 18 consecutive outings. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Marco Trivellato ranks second in the MAAC in save percentage at .826 and third in the league in goals against average at 0.85.
Senior back Thomas Teupen started his final season in Blue and Gold having never scored a game-winning goal. So far this season, Teupen has two game-winning markers, which ties him for second in the MAAC.
Through nine games this season, Canisius leads the MAAC with 151 shots, an average of 16.8 shots per game. The next closest team to Canisius’ shot total is Rider, which has 112 shots on the year in eight contests. Junior Mathew Santos leads the team and the MAAC with 40 shots this season. Sophomore Melvin Blair has 25 shots on the year, which ranks seventh in the conference. Canisius, along with Iona, are the only two teams in the MAAC to rank two different players among the league’s top-10 in total shots.
The game on Saturday will be the 26th all-time meeting between Canisius and Manhattan, with the series tied at 11-11-3. Last season, the Griffs defeated the Jaspers 3-1 on Canisius’ Senior Night. Melvin Blair scored two second-half goals to lead the Blue and Gold to the victory. Canisius has won the last two meetings between the two schools, after the teams played to a scoreless draw in 2013. The Griffs are 2-0-1 in their last three trips to Riverdale. Canisius did not play at Manhattan in 2012 because of Hurricane Sandy.
Manhattan is 0-7-1 overall and 0-1-0 in MAAC play after losing to Monmouth by the score of 2-1 on Sept. 27. The Jaspers have scored just two goals this season in eight games and the team ranks 10th in the MAAC in shots per game average with 8.25 per outing. Goalkeeper Connor Hayes ranks eighth in the MAAC with his 2.09 goals against average.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
