NIAGARA UNIV. — The Canisius men’s soccer team controlled play for most of the night, outshooting Niagara 28-8, but Niagara goalkeeper Steve Casey made eight saves as the two long-time rivals played to a scoreless draw on a rainy night. The Golden Griffins see their record move to 8-7-3 overall and 4-3-3 in league action, while the Purple Eagles see their 2016 season come to a close with a 4-11-2 overall record to go with a 3-6-1 league mark.
With the tie, and Iona’s 1-0 loss at Manhattan, Canisius officially qualified for the 2016 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship, the program’s first postseason berth in a non-Disney championship year since 1996. Canisius ended the regular season with 15 points, which ties the Blue and Gold with Monmouth. By virtue of Canisius’ 2-1 road win at Monmouth Oct. 22, the Griffs will be the tournament’s fifth seed and play at No. 4 seed Marist on Saturday, Nov. 5. The winner of that game will advance to the MAAC Championship semifinal round, which will be hosted by regular-season champion Quinnipiac.
Each team had five shots through the game’s first 45 minutes, but Canisius turned up the offensive pressure on Niagara after the intermission, as the Blue and Gold fired 23 shots through the second half and two overtime periods, with seven of those 23 shots being on frame. Defensively, Canisius locked down the Purple Eagles, who were credited with eight for the game and went 76:17 of game action without being credited with a shot of any kind. Niagara had four shots on goal, which were all stopped by redshirt-junior Marco Trivellato, who earned his fifth shutout of the season.
Canisius will travel to play at No. 4 seed Marist in the first round of the 2016 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship on Saturday. Game time in Poughkeepsie is set for 7 p.m.
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