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RIVERDALE — Canisius scored six unanswered goals in the third quarter to take the lead and held off a late rally to defeat Manhattan, 12-10, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s lacrosse action Saturday at Gaelic Park.
Senior Jeff Edwards tallied four goals and an assist while classmate Lewis Vaccaro chipped in three goals and two assists to pace the Griffs (4-4, 2-2 MAAC). Junior Connor Kearnan finished with three goals and one assist while junior Steven Coss and junior Kieran O’Hagan also scored for Canisius.
Peter Giarrantana and Matt Garvey tallied three goals each to lead the Jaspers (2-7, 0-2 MAAC).
Trailing 6-5 at the start of the third quarter, Canisius rattled off six unanswered goals during the frame to build an 11-6 cushion.
Edwards began the game-chaning run with an even-strength tally 2:21 into the third quarter to tie the game at 6-all before Kearnan and Edwards struck 13 seconds apart less than a minute later to give Canisius an 8-6 edge.
O’Hagan stretched the Griffs advantage to 9-6 just 54 seconds later while Edwards added his third of the frame with 7:48 remaining to make it a 10-6 game. Vaccaro capped the run with 42 seconds to play in the quarter to stretch the Canisius cushion to 11-6.
Manhattan responded to the surge from the Griffs by scoring four straight goals in a 4:15 span midway through the fourth quarter to make it an 11-10 contest.
It would remain a one-goal game until Edwards tallied his fourth goal of the half to give Canisius some breathing room with 1:34 to play and determine the final margin.
The first half saw Manhattan race out to an early 4-1 lead, only to have the Griffs counter with four unanswered goals, highlighted by a pair of tallies from Kearnan, to hold a 5-4 edge early in the second quarter.
The Jaspers regained the lead before the halftime break, scoring the final two goals of the quarter to take a 6-5 advantage into the locker room and set up the Griffs’ third-quarter comeback.
Junior Liam Ganzhorn got the start in goal for Canisius and finished with 11 saves. Michael ZIngaro turned aside 12 shots between the pipes for Manhattan.
Canisius hosts non-conference foe Binghamton in a 4 p.m. contest at the Demske Sports Complex. The game will be shown live on ESPN3.
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