Men's Soccer Battles to 3-2 Win Over Siena

Canisius College forward Alan McGreal drilled home the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the contest's 84th minute to help lift the Golden Griffins to a 3-2 win over Siena College in MAAC action Friday night at the Demske Sports Complex. The win was Canisius' second straight and improves the team to 3-7-0 overall and 2-0-0 in MAAC play, while the Saints slipped to 4-6-2 overall and 1-2-0 in league play.

McGreal's penalty kick chance was set up after Siena was whistled for a handball in the box at the 83:06 mark of regulation time. From there, the sophomore from Dublin, Ireland drilled a shot past Siena keeper Steve Skonieczny for his team-leading sixth goal of the season to give the Blue and Gold a lead they would not relinquish down the stretch.

“This was a typical MAAC game between two even teams that played really hard,” Canisius head coach Jim Hesch said. “It's always good to get a league win, especially at home. We had some high points and some low points through the game, luckily for us, the high points outweighed the low points.”

Siena jumped out to an early 1-0 lead at the 4:28 mark in the first half after Nick Viaggio scored his second goal of the season, but the Griffs tied the game when sophomore Sean Vella posted his first goal of the season off an assist from McGreal in the game's 24th minute.

The score remained 1-1 until the 69th minute when junior Chris Carpenter (pictured) took a pass from freshman Collin Lynch and beat Skonieczny to put the Griffs up 2-1. Siena answered with a goal 7:19 later to knot the score at 2-2 following Anthony Tagliferri's third goal of the season. Tagliferri was able to corral a loose ball in the box to beat Canisius goalkeeper Adam Catley, who picked up his third win of the season in net for Canisius after he made four saves on 11 Siena shots. Skonieczny took the loss for the Saints after making three saves on 17 Canisius shots on goal.

This marks the second time in school history the team has opened league play with a 2-0 record. The other time Canisius started conference action with two-straight victories was during the 1990 campaign, the school's second year as a member of the conference.

Canisius will return to action Sunday, Oct. 14, when the team plays host to Marist at the Demske Sports Complex. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Game Notes: Friday night's win gives Canisius head coach Jim Hesch 31 career victories, which ties him with Dr. Greg Reeds for the most wins in program history... Alan McGreal's penalty kick goal was his second of the season... Freshman Collin Lynch has an assist in each of his last two games... The Griffs have taken three straight from Siena and have posted wins in four of the last five meetings between the two schools.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Chris Carpenter: B/F; 5' 9"; Junior

#1 Adam Catley: GK; 6' 3"; Freshman

#23 Collin Lynch: F; 6' 3"; Freshman

#7 Alan McGreal: M; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Sean Vella: D; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#4 Chris Carpenter
: 5' 9"; Junior
: B/F

#1 Adam Catley
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: GK

#23 Collin Lynch
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: F

#7 Alan McGreal
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: M

#6 Sean Vella
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: D