The Canisius College women's lacrosse team fell to Marist in the MAAC Semifinals on Friday afternoon, 15-10. The Griffs finished the 2008 campaign with a 9-9 record.
“We played hard today,” said head coach Scott Teeter. “We came up against a good team and a hot goalie. I was proud how we played hard for a full 60 minutes. We will miss our seniors and wish them best of luck in the future.”
Junior Ashley Gray and freshmen Taylor Gray and Emily Maguire led the Griffs with two goals each. Seniors Whitney Card and Erica Nasca plus junior Chelsea Martinez and freshman Carly Quinn each added a score.
Senior Lauren Walsh paced the Griffs attack with three assists. Her three assists brought her school-record season total to 42 and her career total to 103. Her 103 assists are now tied for the most in MAAC history. She tied the mark set by Niagara's Sandra Gallegos, who posted 103 assists from 2000 to 2003. Walsh also became the first Griff to reach 200 points for her career. She will graduate with a school-record 200 points and finished second with 97 career goals.
Freshman Allison Daley played solid in net, recording 11 saves for the Griffs.
The first half was closely contested early in the period with neither team gaining more than a two-goal advantage. However, with the score knotted at four, the Red Foxes tallied four of the next five goals to grab an 8-5 advantage. Card found Maguire for her second goal with just 20 seconds left in the half to bring the Griffs to within two at intermission, 8-6.
Marist (9-8) scored two early goals in the second half and the Griffs were never able to pull within two. The Red Foxes' two goals in the first 1:11 of the second half stretched its advantage to four. Nasca and Taylor Gray both tallied goals to bring the Griffs within two. The teams then traded goals and Marist would add two more before Ashley Gray scored with 12:06 left in the contest. However, Gray's score would be the last goal for the Griffs as Marist dominated possession and added two empty-net goals late when Daley was challenging the ball.
Ali Carnabuci led the Red Foxes with six points on four goals and two assists. Liz Burkhard anchored the Marist defense with 17 saves in net.
Game Notes: The Griffs' nine victories this season are tied for the second-most in school history ... Walsh finished one point behind the single-season school record for points with 64 ... Ashley Gray finished the year tied for the team lead with 35 goals ... Daley raised her single-season school record for saves to 174 ... Canisius is now 1-2 all-time in MAAC Tournament games ... The Canisius seniors finished their careers with a 35-33 record. The Griffs were 11-84 all-time before their arrival ... Card owns the school record with 137 career goals.
