The Canisius College women's soccer team dominated visiting Cleveland State on Wednesday night, earning a 4-0 victory at the Demske Sports Complex. With the win, the Griffs improve to 11-3-2 on the season.
"I thought we played fantastic," said Canisius head coach Jim Wendling. "We moved the ball well. We defended well. We had great attacking play. We also played a lot of people and everybody stepped up today. It was a good game for us."
Sophomore Kelly Reinwald led the Griffs with three points on the night, scoring one goal and adding an assist. Senior Meagan Jones, junior Camille Blum and sophomore Christina Gullo also scored goals for Canisius. Senior Sylvia Kowalski paced the Canisius attack with two assists.
Senior Lesley Ivinac recorded five saves in goal to earn her first collegiate victory.
Canisius opened the scoring in the 19th minute of play. Reinwald crossed the ball to Jones, who knocked it in from 10 yards out for her second goal in as many games. Blum then stretched Canisius' lead to two slightly before halftime, netting her first score of the season. Cleveland State attempted to clear the ball out of the box but Blum intercepted the clearing attempt and fired the ball in from 25 yards out.
The Griffs continued to dominate play in the second half. Gullo registered her first collegiate goal in the 49th minute, banging in a rebound off a Kowalski shot. Reinwald then rounded out the scoring for the Griffs with her fourth goal of the season, scoring off a cross from Kowalski.
Canisius outshot the Vikings, 21-15, and had a 7-4 edge in corner kicks. Kelly Zinkiewich and Shannon Saunders combined to make seven saves for Cleveland State, who fell to 3-13-1 on the season.
Canisius wraps up the 2009 regular season this weekend, hosting Iona and Fairfield at the Demske Sports Complex. The Griffs will play the Gaels on Friday at 7 p.m. before playing the Stags on Senior Day, scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Game Notes: The 11 wins for Canisius are tied for the second most in school history. The Griffs won a program-record 12 games during the 1994 season ... The four-goal margin of victory is the most for Canisius in a non-conference game since also defeating Youngstown State 4-0 on Sept. 15, 2000 ... Kowalski has now totaled 34 points, 12 goals and 10 assists this season ... Her 10 assists are tied for the most in school history, while her 34 points are tied for third and her 12 goals are tied for fifth ... The start for Ivinac was the first in her career.
