CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Three difference players recorded hat tricks to pace Canisius in a 19-11 victory over Manhattan In Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s lacrosse action Friday at the Demske Sports Complex.
Senior Ryan McKee and sophomores Mathieu Boissonneault and Carter Stefaniak all tallied three goals apiece to lead a Golden Griffins (6-7, 3-2 MAAC) attack that established a season high for goals with the victory.
Seniors Steven Coss and Connor Kearnan and juniorMario Caito chipped in two goals apiece as 10 different Canisius players recorded a goal in the contest.
Friday’s win clinched the Griffs a berth in the 2018 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship, scheduled for May 3-5 at Kessler Stadium on the campus of Monmouth University.
Justin Malpica recorded two goals while Luke Hanson tallied four points on a goal and three assists for the Jaspers (4-9, 0-5 MAAC).
Canisius never trailed in the contest as it tallied the first three goals of the game on strikes from McKee, sophomoreReece Eddy and senior Keith Pravato during a 70-second span midway through the first to build a 3-0 cushion.
Manhattan responded to the Griffs opening salvo, scoring two of the next three goals to trim the deficit to 4-2. Stefaniak and McKee had an answer for Canisius, however, as the duo found the back of the net just 28 seconds apart to close out the frame and give the Griffs a 6-2 lead after one.
In the second quarter, William Ratchford opened the scoring to pull the Jaspers within three, 6-3, only to see Canisius counter with goals from McKee, Boissonneault and sophomore Holden Garlent to stretch its advantage to 9-3. Malpica found the back of the net for Manhattan in the final minute of the stanza to make it a 9-4 game at the break.
The third quarter saw Stefaniak and Coss register the first two goals of the frame while Malpica notched his second of the contest near the midway point of the frame to keep the Jaspers within striking distance at 11-5.
Malpica’s tally only slowed the Canisius momentum momentarily, as Stefaniak completed his hat trick just 13 seconds later while Kearnan and senior Cody Filson added goals less than a minute apart to extend the Canisius cushion to 14-5.
Manhattan attempted to remain in the contest, scoring the final two goals of the third to pull within seven heading into the fourth, but Canisius once again had an answer as Boissonneault and Caito opened the scoring in the fourth to restore the Griffs’ nine-goal margin, 16-7.
The remainder of the contest saw the teams battle back-and-forth as the teams traded goals before Manhattan’s Gregory Gallagher closed out the scoring with 1:14 remaining to determine the eight-goal final margin.
Senior Liam Ganzhorn recorded six saves in goal for Canisius. Michael Zingaro posted 12 saves between the pipes for Manhattan.
Head Coach Mark Miyashita‘s Postgame Comments
“It was a great game for us today. The guys came out fired up and wanted to take care of business with an opportunity to clinch a spot in the MAAC Championship with a victory and that was really our focus; making sure that we took care of business today and not leaving it to chance of having to rely on next week or having to rely on other teams.
“The guys did a great job in practice this week of dialing in. Our mission this week was to limit mistakes that have plagued us this season; mistakes that we’ve made that have led to turnovers and goals against. We did a good job of limiting those today and we were able to get a great team effort.”
Game Notes
• Canisius improved its record to 20-4 against Manhattan with Friday’s victory. The win was also the Griffs’ 12 straight against the Jaspers.
• Canisius established a season high for goals with its 19 tallies on Friday and were the most in a game for the Griffs since a 20-6 victory at VMI on April 19, 2015.
• With his four points on Friday, senior Connor Kearnan moved into a tie with Ned Franz (1994) for fourth place on the program’s single-season points chart (66).
• Kearnan’s two assists on Friday also vaulted him into a tie with Cort Knodel for fifth place on the program’s career assists chart (78).
• Sophomores Mathieu Boissonneault and Carter Stefaniak recorded their fifth hat tricks of the season with their three-goal performances on Friday.
• Senior Ryan McKee posted his fourth hat trick of the season and the 11th of his career with a three-goal effort on Friday.
• Senior Steven Coss tallied five or more points in a game for the second time this season and third time in his career as he finished with two goals and three assists on Friday.
• Long-stick midfielders Holden Garlent and Reece Eddy both tallied a goal and an assist on Friday.
Up Next
• Canisius closes out the regular season April 27 when it hosts Monmouth in a 4 p.m. contest at the Demske Sports Complex.
