STAFF REPORTS
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DETROIT — Canisius scored the last eight goals of the game to erase a two-goal deficit and defeat Detroit Mercy, 11-5, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s lacrosse action Saturday at Titan Field.
In a matchup of two of the league’s three undefeated teams, junior Connor Kearnan recorded six points on five goals and one assist to power the Griffs (5-5, 3-0 MAAC) attack. Freshman Alex Hornung chipped in four points with two goals and two assists while junior Eric Gold also added a pair of tallies.
Junior Liam Ganzhorn made 11 saves in goal for the Griffs, including the final five shots he faced from UDM as the Griffs held the Titans without a goal for the final 31:51 of the contest.
Matthew Vangalen tallied three goals for UDM (5-7, 3-1 MAAC). Kyle Beauregard and Alec Gilhooly also found the back of the net for the Titans.
Trailing 5-4 at the start of the third quarter, Kearnan brought the Griffs level with man-up tally at the 12:53 mark of the third quarter before the two teams would engage in a defensive battle that saw neither team convert for the next 14:53.
Senior Lewis Vaccaro finally broke the deadlock 2:02 into the fourth quarter to give Canisius their first lead of the contest, 6-5.
Gold and Kearnan combined to give the Griffs some breathing room, scoring the next four goals of the game during a 5:08 stretch to extend the Canisius advantage to 10-6. Hornung capped the Griffs’ run when he put home his second goal of the game with 2:51 to play.
Earlier in the contest, UDM used consecutive tallies from Beauregard, Gilhooly, and Vangalen in a 5:02 span to break a 1-1 deadlock and build a 4-1 cushion.
Kearnan brought Canisius within one moments later, scoring back-to-back goals in a 52-second span to make it a 4-3 game midway through the second quarter.
Vangalen restored the Titans’ two-goal advantage with 1:51 remaining in the second, only to see Hornung counter just 56 seconds later to make it a 5-4 contest and start the Griffs’ game-changing run.
Canisius returns to action April 15 when it hosts MAAC foe Siena in a 3 p.m. contest at the Demske Sports Complex. The game serves as the second half of a men’s and women’s doubleheader, with the women’s team hosting Quinnipiac in a Noon tilt. The game will be shown live on Spectrum Sports (formally TWCSN).
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