CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Date: Thursday, May 2
Time: Noon
Location: Kessler Stadium | West Long Branch, N.J.
TV/Webcast: ESPN+
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
Game Notes: Canisius | Quinnipiac
Series History: Quinnipiac leads, 8-3
Last Meeting: Quinnipiac 19, Canisius 14 (April 14, 2018)
No. 4 seed Canisius begins its quest for a conference crown Thursday when it opens the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship with a semifinal matchup versus No. 1 seed Quinnipiac.
Opening faceoff between the Griffs (6-8, 3-3 MAAC) and the Bobcats (9-5, 6-0 MAAC) is set for Noon at Monmouth’s Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch, N.J. The game will be shown live on ESPN+.
2018 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship
• Canisius and Quinnipiac square off in the first of two semifinal matches scheduled for Thursday at Kessler Stadium.
• No. 2 seed Detroit Mercy faces No. 3 seed and defending champion Monmouth in the second semifinal at 3 p.m.
• The winners of the two semifinals will meet Saturday at 10 a.m. for the tournament championship. The game will air live on ESPNU.
Scouting Canisius
• Making its third straight appearance in the MAAC Championship, Canisius enters postseason play looking to rebound after closing the regular season with a 13-12 setback to defending champion Monmouth last Friday at the Demske Sports Complex.
• Senior Connor Kearnan has been the driving force of the Canisius attack this season as he leads the Griffs in both assists (44) and points (71). Kearnan ranks among the top 10 players in the nation in both assists (3.14/6th) and points (5.07/9th) per contest.
• Sophomore Mathieu Boissonneault leads the Griffs in goals (34) and is tied for second in points (43). Boissonneault, who ranks second in the nation in shooting percentage (.586), has scored multiple goals in 11 of 14 games played this season.
• Senior Steven Coss is tied with Boissonneault for second on the team in points with 43. Coss begins the MAAC Championship just 11 points away from reaching the 100-point plateau for his career.
• Sophomore Reece Eddy highlights the team’s defensive efforts as the long pole has posted team highs of 23 caused turnovers and 71 ground balls. Eddy begins the MAAC Championship ranked among the top 35 players in the nation in both ground balls (5.07/31st) and caused turnovers (1.64/17th) per game.
• Senior Liam Ganzhorn has started all 14 games in goal for the Griffs this season, posting a .426 save percentage and a 13.31 goals against average in 806 minutes of action.
• Canisius has been one of the more efficient shooting teams in the country as it enters Thursday’s matchup with Quinnipiac ranked third in the nation in shooting percentage (.374). The Griffs have shot better than 40 percent from the field on five occasions this season, highlighted by a season-high 51.4 percent conversion rate (19-of-37) in their 19-10 victory versus Manhattan on April 20.
Canisius Falls to Monmouth in Regular Season Finale, 13-12
• Monmouth opened the fourth quarter with three unanswered goals to take the lead and held off a late Canisius rally to post a 13-12 victory in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s lacrosse action Friday at the Demske Sports Complex.
• Playing in front of a national audience on ESPNU, senior Ryan McKee and sophomore Carter Stefaniak notched four goals each to pace the Golden Griffins attack.
• Senior Connor Kearnan dished out five assists while McKee added a pair of helpers to finish with a game-high six points.
• Trailing 11-10 at the start of the fourth, Dylan Schulte found the back of the net twice during a four-minute span midway through the frame to give the Hawks a 12-11 lead.
• Anthony Sardo stretched the visiting team’s advantage to two with his third of the game with 1:02 remaining, only to see McKee counter for Canisius less than 10 seconds later to make it a one-goal game.
• The Griffs won the ensuing faceoff and had three chances to record the equalizer during the game’s final possession, but Monmouth keeper Noah Lode made two saves and a last-second effort from Stefaniak was off the mark, allowing the Hawks to escape with the one-goal victory.
• The contest against Monmouth was the eighth game played by the Griffs this season to be decided by two goals or less. The loss moved Canisius to 4-4 in such games in 2018.
• Senior Ryan McKee established a career high with his six points against the Hawks.
• Sophomore Carter Stefaniak recorded five points in a game for the third time this season with his five-point effort against the Hawks.
• Senior Connor Kearnan dished out three or more assists for the seventh time this season with his five assists. Kearnan, now at 44 assists this season, sits five helpers away from matching Randy Mearns’ school mark for assists in a campaign (49 in 1990).
• With his five points versus Monmouth, Kearnan moved into sole possession of fifth place on the program’s career points chart (168).
• Sophomore Reece Eddy posted game highs of seven ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Canisius in the MAAC Championship
• Canisius is making its 10th appearance in the MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship, having won the title on two previous occasions in 2008 and 2012.
• Overall, the Griffs are 4-7 all-time in the tournament, including a 2-5 record as the lower seed. Canisius has won four of its last seven games in the postseason tournament.
Scouting Quinnipiac
• The top seeded Bobcats enter the postseason riding a winning streak that stands at five games following a 17-14 victory over Marist to close out the regular season last Saturday.
• Foster Cuomo highlights a balanced Quinnipiac attack as he leads the second-highest scoring attack in the MAAC in both goals (31) and points (46).
• Freshman Jake Tomsik ranks second on the team in scoring, compiling 26 goals and a team-high 17 assists for 43 points. Tomsik was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Monday, the fourth time he has been named the league’s top rookie this season.
• Mike Fletcher sits third on the team’s scoring chart with 40 points as his tied for second in assists (15) and is fourth in goals (25).
• Joe Zukaskas has been the man in net for the Bobcats during the second half of the season, starting each of the team’s last 11 contests. He ranks second in the league in goals against average (9.03) and third in save percentage (.520).
Canisius-Quinnipiac Series Notes
• In 11 all-time meetings between the two schools, Quinnipiac holds an 8-3 advantage against Canisius.
• Since the Bobcats rejoined the MAAC prior to the 2014 season, Quinnipiac has won 3-of-6 meetings with the Griffs.
• Quinnipiac claimed the regular season matchup between the two programs, posting a 19-14 victory at the Quinnipiac Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium on April 14. Sophomore Mathieu Boissonneault (4g, 1a) and seniorConnor Kearnan (2g, 3a) paced the Griffs with five points each.
• The Griffs are 0-1 against the Bobcats in MAAC Championship competition, having suffering a 13-7 setback to No. 1 seed and host Quinnipiac in the 2016 edition of the tournament.
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