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Facing a three-goal deficit with less than 14 minutes remaining, the Canisius College men's soccer team scored three unanswered goals in a 4:59 span to knot the game at four. However a Bison goal with just 4:28 left in the game helped Bucknell to a 5-4 victory.
“Obviously we had some highs and lows today,” said Canisius head coach Jim Hesch. “In the first half, I thought we were their best player and gave them two goals. We showed some fight coming back from down 4-1 but in the end, we lost the game.”
The Bison (1-1-0) opened the scoring with two goals in the first half. Alex Russo lifted the ball past the Canisius defense and Anthony Ferraro scored in the 27th minute of play. Chris Henning then took advantage of a poor Canisius pass in the 38th minute to score his first goal of the day.
Junior Sean Vella scored in the 41st minute to bring the Griffs (0-2-0) to within one at the intermission. Junior Alan McGreal found freshman Ben Rowell on a free kick. Rowell then sent the ball toward the box and Vella scored off a header.
Bucknell quickly added a third goal to reclaim its two-goal advantage early in the second half. Hennings made a move to beat a Canisius defender and scored off the post. Hennings would then complete his hat trick with just 13:51 remaining in the game. With Canisius playing up, Hennings took the ball the length of the field to give the Bison a 4-1 lead.
The Griffs quickly responded when junior Victor Gonzalez (pictured) scored his first collegiate goal. The junior transfer scored off a loose ball in the center of the box. Senior Eddie Powell followed with his first career goal just 74 seconds later off a pass from Gonzalez. Powell's shot deflected off a Bucknell defender and into the goal to bring the Griffs to within one.
With 7:51 remaining in the contest, sophomore Brendan Brody tallied the equalizer, scoring from the right of the box off a pass from McGreal. However, Hennings would score his fourth goal of the afternoon three minutes later, connecting on a loose ball in the box.
Hennings matched a Bucknell record with his four goals on the afternoon. Gonzalez led the Griffs with three points, while freshman Adam Miller posted five saves in his first collegiate contest.
McGreal's two assists on the day raised his career point total to 51. He is just the eighth Griff in school history to reach the 50-point plateau.
Canisius is back in action this weekend, competing at the University at Buffalo Tournament. The Griffs will square off with Detroit on Friday and Wright State on Sunday.
Game Notes: The Griffs fell to 16-18-3 all-time in home openers ... The loss ended Canisius' four-game winning streak at the Demkse Sports Complex ... McGreal has posted 18 goals and 15 assists during his career ... His 51 points are now tied for sixth in school history with Brad Kenny ... His 15 career assists moved him past Jay Joseph (13 assists) and Adam Lonergan (14 assists) for sixth all-time in school history.
