Canisius junior Emma Oliphant scored a pair of goals in the first half and sophomore Skylar Cornell recorded her first marker of the season to help lead the Golden Griffins to a 3-1 road victory over Saint Peter’s in the MAAC opener for both schools Saturday afternoon at Jaroschak Field in Jersey City, N.J.
The win, Canisius’ second straight, improved the Blue and Gold to 3-1-3 overall and 1-0-0 in league action, while Saint Peter’s slipped to 2-4-0 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play.
The Griffs dominated the game in their attacking half, ending the contest with a 21-7 advantage in shots and an 11-3 edge in shots on goal. Nine different Canisius players recorded a shot in the win, led by Oliphant and sophomore Mia Iacona, who were credited with four shots apiece.
Oliphant’s first shot of the game went into lower-left corner of the goal past Saint Peter’s goalkeeper Annabelle Adams to give Canisius a 1-0 lead just 3:43 into the contest.
Saint Peter’s answered quickly, however, as Taylor Moyer scored her third goal of the season just 13 seconds after Oliphant’s marker to knot the game at 1-1. Saint Peter’s midfielder Allyssia Merisier was credited with an assist on Moyer’s goal, ending Canisius goalkeeper Jordan Spencer‘s shutout streak at 453:57.
The game would not be tied for long, as Oliphant scored her second goal of the day and her team-leading third of the season in the game’s 13th minute with another shot that beat Adams to the bottom left corner.
Cornell added the Griffs’ lead with a goal in the game’s 49th minute to make the score 3-1 in favor of the road team. That goal came after the Blue and Gold was able to settle a Saint Peter’s turnover in the Griffs’ attacking third.
Saint Peter’s would have two scoring opportunities in the contest’s 59th minute, the second of which ended up being one of Spencer’s two saves on the day.
GAME NOTES
• Saturday’s game served as the 32nd all-time meeting between the two MAAC schools. Canisius leads the all-time series 22-7-2.
• Including last year’s win, the Griffs have beaten the Peacocks in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2015 and 2016.
• The Griffs have now won their MAAC opener in each of the last two seasons.
• Canisius’ three goals are the most for the team since the Blue and Gold defeated Saint Peter’s 3-0 on Oct. 8, 2022.
• Saturday was Oliphant’s second career multi-goal game. Both of which have come against Saint Peter’s, as she recorded two markers against the Peacocks in last season’s victory at the Demske Sports Complex.
• Freshman Nicki Silverman earned her first career collegiate start following her game-winning goal against St. Bonaventure on Sept. 6.
UP NEXT
Canisius closes out the non-conference portion of its 2023 schedule with a road game at Le Moyne on Wednesday. Opening kickoff for the contest between the Griffs and Dolphins is slated for 3 p.m., at Ted Grant Field in Syracuse, N.Y.
For complete coverage of Canisius women’s soccer, follow the Griffs @CanisiusWSOC on X (formerly Twitter) and @CanisiusWSoccer on Instagram.
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