CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Date: Saturday, May 5
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Kessler Stadium | West Long Branch, N.J.
TV/Webcast: ESPNU
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
Game Notes: Canisius | Detroit Mercy
Series History: Detroit Mercy leads, 6-4
Last Meeting: Detroit Mercy 12, Canisius 10 (April 7, 2018)
No. 4 seed Canisius attempts to win its first conference title in six
seasons when it faces No. 2 seed Detroit Mercy in the title game of the
2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship
Saturday at Kessler Stadium on the campus of Monmouth University.
Opening faceoff for the contest between the Golden Griffins (7-8, 3-3
MAAC) and the Titans (9-6, 5-1 MAAC) is set for 10 a.m. The game will be
shown live on ESPNU, with the winner receiving the league’s automatic
bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting Canisius
• Canisius makes its third MAAC Championship game appearance and first
since winning the 2012 Championship Saturday after advancing with an
11-10 overtime victory over No. 1 seed Quinnipiac in semifinal-round
action Thursday.
• Senior Connor Kearnan, the
MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, has been the driving force of the
Canisius attack this season as he leads the Griffs in both assists (47)
and points (76). Kearnan leads the MAAC and ranks among the top 10
players in the nation in both assists (3.13/6th) and points (5.07/7th)
per contest.
• Senior Steven Coss is
second on the team in points with 49. Coss, an All-MAAC Second Team
honoree, matched his career high with six points (2g, 4a) during
Thursday’s semifinal matchup with Quinnipiac.
• Sophomore Mathieu Boissonneault
leads the Griffs in goals (35) and is third in points (44).
Boissonneault, who ranks second in the nation in shooting percentage
(.565), was named an All-MAAC Second Team selection on Wednesday.
• Sophomore Reece Eddy
highlights the team’s defensive efforts as the long pole has posted
team highs of 26 caused turnovers and 73 ground balls. An All-MAAC
Second Team pick, Eddy begins the MAAC Championship ranked among the top
35 players in the nation in both ground balls (4.87/33rd) and caused
turnovers (1.73/13th) per game.
• Senior Liam Ganzhorn
has started all 15 games in goal for the Griffs this season, posting a
.434 save percentage and a 13.06 goals against average in 867 minutes of
action. Ganzhorn recorded 12 saves in the Griffs overtime victory
against the Bobcats.
• 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 (.372). 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 Upsets No. 1 Seed Quinnipiac in MAAC Semifinals
• Senior Ryan McKee
scored at the 2:59 mark of overtime to lift fourth-seeded Canisius to
an 11-10 upset of top seed Quinnipiac in the first semifinal of the 2018
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship Thursday
at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch, N.J.
• Senior Steven Coss led all players with six points on two goals and four assists while senior Connor Kearnan chipped in two goals and three assists. Three players – McKee, senior Keith Pravato and sophomore Carter Stefaniak – pitched in two goals each.
• Canisius led most of the game until Quinnipiac took the lead near the
midway point of the fourth quarter. The Bobcats held the lead until the
final minute of regulation, when Stefaniak scored with 12 seconds to
play to tie the game and send it to overtime.
• Canisius improved to 4-8 against Quinnipiac with Thursday’s victory.
The win also evened the Griffs recorded against the Bobcats in MAAC
Championship contests to 1-1.
• Canisius improved its record in the MAAC Championship to 5-7 with Thursday’s overtime victory.
• Thursday’s win advances the Griffs to the title game of the MAAC
Championship for the third time in program history (2008 & 2012).
• The contest was Canisius’ second overtime contest of the season as
Griffs moved to 2-0 in extra-session games in 2018 (14-13 victory over
Furman on Feb. 24).
• Canisius improved to 5-4 in games decided by two goals or less with
Thursday’s overtime victory. Four of the Griffs last six contests have
been decided by two goals or fewer.
• Coss matched his season high with six points (2g, 4a) on Thursday,
matching his total against Siena on March 24. The performance was Coss’
third outing of five or more points this season.
• Kearnan recorded three assists on Thursday, giving him 47 for the season and moving him within two helpers of matching Randy Mearns for first place on the program’s single-season assists list (49 in 1990).
• Kearnan recorded five or more points in a game for the ninth time this
season and the 16th in his career with his five-point effort on
Thursday.
• Senior Liam Ganzhorn recorded double-digit saves for the seventh time this season and the 21st time in his career as he finished with 12 saves.
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 5-7 all-time in the tournament, including a
3-5 record as the lower seed. Canisius has won five of its last eight
games in the four-team event.
Scouting Detroit Mercy
• The No. 2 seed Titans head into Saturday’s championship contest
looking to claim the program’s second MAAC title after advancing to the
championship game with a 12-9 victory versus No. 3 seed and defending
tournament champion Monmouth Thursday.
• Matthew Vangalen, an All-MAAC Second Team selection, highlights the
UDM attack as he leads the team in goals (30), assists (19) and points
(49).
• All-MAAC Rookie Team honoree Brett Erskine ranks second on the team in
all three major offensive categories, compiling 21 goals, 13 assists
and 34 points during his freshman campaign.
• Freshman keeper Logan Shamblin has started 14 of 15 games played
between the pipes for the Titans this season, ranking second in the MAAC
in both goals against average (9.07) and save percentage (.548).
Shamblin was named to the league’s all-rookie team on Wednesday.
Canisius-Detroit Mercy Series Notes
• In 10 previous meetings between the two schools, Detroit Mercy owns a 6-4 advantage against Canisius.
• The Griffs were victorious over the Titans in their only previous
matchup in postseason play, posting a 12-10 victory in a semifinal-round
contest during the 2012 edition of the championship in Poughkeepsie,
N.Y.
• UDM claimed the regular season contest between the programs, scoring
the final five goals of the game to rally from a three-goal deficit and
post a 12-10 victory at the Demske Sports Complex on April 7.
• Senior Connor Kearnan notched three goals and added two assists for the Golden Griffins while senior Steven Coss pitched in three goals and senior Ryan McKee added two.
Boissonneault Family Bragging Rights on the Line Again Saturday
• Detroit Mercy and Canisius do share a common family bond on the lacrosse field in the Boissonneault family.
• While Griffs sophomore attack Mathieu Boissonneault leads
the Griffs in goals this season with 35 goals and ranks third on the
team in scoring with 44 points, he will have some work to do in order to
match the career outputs of his older sister, Emily, on was on the
inaugural Detroit Mercy women’s lacrosse team in 2009 and starred for
the Titans from 2009-12.
• Emily is the Titan’s career leader with 272 points and 242 goals. She
is still in the NCAA Division I record books as she ranks ninth in
career caused turnovers per game (2.28), tied for 15th in caused
turnovers (157), 16th in goals per game (3.51) and tied for 16th in
career goals (242).
Jesuit Pride
• Detroit Mercy and Canisius are two of just eight Jesuit schools playing Division I lacrosse.
• The others are Fairfield, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Loyola (Md.), Marquette and St. Joseph’s.
• Canisius holds a combined 8-24 record against Detroit Mercy (4-6),
Fairfield (0-4), Georgetown (0-4), Loyola (Md.) (0-1) and Saint Joseph’s
(4-9).
• The Griffs have not yet faced Holy Cross or Marquette.
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