Women?s Lacrosse Falls to No. 12 Notre Dame

Women's Lacrosse 3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Women's Lacrosse Edged by St. Bonaventure

The Canisius College women's lacrosse team lost its home opener to local rival St. Bonaventure, 11-10, on Tuesday afternoon. The loss drops the Griffs to 0-3 on the season, while the Bonnies are now 1-2.

“I think we played hard all the way through,” said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. “We competed but we made some mental errors early in the second half that cost us the game. You can't win a game when you turn the ball over 27 times. We have a lot of aspects that we need to improve on, like draw controls and possessing the ball. Luckily, those things are fixable.”

Freshman Taylor Gray scored a career-best three goals for her first collegiate hat trick. Senior Lauren Walsh and sophomore Brett Poissant (pictured) each tallied four points to lead the Griffs' offense. Walsh scored a goal and added three assists, while Poissant recorded two goals and two helpers.

Senior Whitney Card, juniors Ashley Gray and Chelsea Martinez plus sophomore Marissa Brown each added a goal for Canisius.

Freshman Allison Daley recorded 13 saves in net to anchor the Griffs' defense.

Both teams started strong on the offensive side. The two teams combined for seven goals in the game's first 11 minutes with Brown capping the spurt with her first goal of the season to give Canisius a 4-3 advantage. Card added a free-position goal four minutes later to give the Griffs a two-goal advantage, the largest lead for either team during the game.

The Bonnies responded with a pair of goals to knot the game at five before Walsh scored her third of the season. St. Bonaventure would once again knot the game but Taylor Gray gave the Griffs a 7-6 advantage heading into halftime with her first score of the afternoon.

The second half was also closely contested, with neither team leading by more than one score. St. Bonaventure claimed a 9-8 advantage before Taylor Gray scored two-consecutive goals to give Canisius a 10-9 lead. However, the Griffs lead would be short lived as St. Bonaventure tied the contest 21 seconds later with 7:50 remaining in regulation.

After the Bonnies' goal, Canisius controlled the ball for a majority of the time but could not find the back of the net. With just under five minutes remaining, Martinez had a free-position shot ring off the post and Brown followed with another shot that hit the post. Eventually, St. Bonaventure gained possession and was awarded a free-position shot. Daley tipped Megan Murphy's shot but the ball would get past Daley and into the goal with 1:40 remaining. The Bonnies would win the ensuing draw control and the Griffs could not gain possession as St. Bonaventure was able to hold on for the victory.

St. Bonaventure dominated the draw circle, winning 16-of-23 draw controls. Brenna Houghton led the Bonnies with four goals, while Eboni Preston recorded seven saves in goal.

The Griffs return to the field on Friday, squaring off at Robert Morris. Game time is set for 4 p.m.

Game Notes: Canisius fell to 3-8 all-time in home openers ... Daley leads all goalies in the country with 15.67 saves per game ... Poissant's four points matched a career-high (vs. Robert Morris, 3/15/07) ... Ashley Gray is now one point shy of becoming the third player in school history with 100 career points ... The Griffs have now lost their last six games to the Bonnies and are 1-6 all-time against the local rival. The one-goal margin of defeat was the Griffs' best showing since defeating St. Bonaventure during the 2000 season.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Marissa Brown: M; 5' 4"; Sophomore

#21 Whitney Card: A; 5' 9"; Senior

#1 Allison Daley: GK; 5' 4"; Freshman

#2 Ashley Gray: M; 5' 3"; Junior

#4 Taylor Gray: A; 5' 5"; Freshman

#23 Chelsea Martinez: M; 5' 7"; Junior

#10 Brett Poissant: M; 5' 4"; Sophomore

#15 Lauren Walsh: A; 5' 3"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#13 Marissa Brown
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: M

#21 Whitney Card
: 5' 9"; Senior
: A

#1 Allison Daley
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: GK

#2 Ashley Gray
: 5' 3"; Junior
: M

#4 Taylor Gray
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: A

#23 Chelsea Martinez
: 5' 7"; Junior
: M

#10 Brett Poissant
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: M

#15 Lauren Walsh
: 5' 3"; Senior
: A