CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
SYRACUSE — Boston College scored six-straight goals midway through the first half and never looked back, as the 14th ranked Eagles defeated Canisius 21-9 Friday afternoon in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship on the campus of Syracuse University. With the win, Boston College advances to play No. 6 Syracuse Sunday at 3 p.m., while the Golden Griffins see their season end with a 15-5 overall mark.
For Canisius, junior Jen Reininger scored four times, while fellow junior Allie Stewart and sophomore Tessa Chad each added two goals to the losing effort. Junior goalkeeper Rebecca VanLaeken made 11 stops for the Blue and Gold between the pipes, as Canisius lost for the first time since March 5, a span of 12 games.
Stewart scored back-to-back goals for Canisius in the span of a little less than four minutes to give the Griffs a 5-2 lead with 16:30 left to play before halftime. Stewart’s second goal however, would end up being Canisius’ final marker for 10:06, as the Eagles scored the contest’s next six goals to take an 8-5 lead with 11:47 left in the opening half. A goal by Reininger with 4:39 left before the break got Canisius within two at 9-7, but Boston College scored with a little more than 2:00 left in the first half to hold a three-goal cushion at halftime.
Boston College took control of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, as the Eagles scored three times in the first 3:15 of the frame to take a 13-7 lead. Reininger scored twice in the second half for Canisius, but Boston College dominated the shots in the second, holding a 19-9 advantage, while also grabbing seven ground balls to Canisius’ three.
The Eagles used a 7-0 stretch over a 10:40 span to secure the contest, while trading goals with the Griffs over the final 1:36 of the game for the 21-9 final score.
Head Coach Scott Teeter’s Postgame Comments
“We have had such a good run over the last half of our season that we were bound to hit a bump in the road. We played a great ACC team today that gave us there all, and it was an experience that we can definitely learn from moving forward.”
“We had an excellent start to the game, but their athleticism and depth was something that really stood out down the stretch.”
“Although we lost, we can look back on a tremendous season where we did many great things as a team and for the program as a whole. To our graduating seniors, we wish you the best of luck and we know you will be highly successful in your professional careers.”
Game Notes
• This marked the fifth time Canisius and Boston College have met in women’s lacrosse. The Eagles are 5-0 all-time.
• Friday’s game against Boston College marks the first time the Griffs have played an ACC school in the NCAA Tournament.
• Four of Canisius’ five losses this season came to ranked opponents.
• Junior Erica Evans finished her season with a school-record 108 points, which also stands for the most points by player in MAAC history for one season.
• Evans had a season high eight ground balls in the contest
• Reininger tied her career-high for goals in a game, with 4.• The junior transfer from Syracuse scored at least one goal in all 20 of her games this season.• Reininger and senior Janae Guy were tied for the team lead with two ground balls.• Smolenky led all Canisius players with two assists.
• The contest marked the final game for four Seniors, Sam Bianchi, Ashley Bull, Ashley Heisler and Shannon Pelitera.
• Named to the starting lineup Friday, Bull now has the most career starts in program history, at 73, formely held by Casey Depauw and Maria Kotas.
• Bull ends her career as the as the Canisius all-time leader in draw controls, while having the sixth most draw controls among active players in the NCAA (255).
• In 2017, the Griffs set school records for wins (15), goals scored (304), total points (442) and draw controls (273) in a season.
• The team also ended 2017 with the highest points-per-game (22.10), goals-per-game (15.20), assists-per-game (6.90) and draw controls-per-game (13.65) averages of any team in program history.