The Canisius College women's lacrosse team defeated Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex, 13-11. The Griffs won their second-consecutive game and improved to 3-3 on the season, while Robert Morris fell to 1-3.
“We played for a full 60 minutes today and that was key,” said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. “It was a great team victory. Anytime you get two wins in a weekend, you have to be happy. We will look to build off this victory and carry it into next week's game against a tough Navy team.”
Senior Chelsea Martinez matched her career-high with six points to lead the Canisius attack. Martinez scored five goals and added an assist plus four ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls in the victory.
Sophomore Ashley Curtis tallied a career-best four goals, while senior Ashley Gray, junior Marissa Brown, sophomore Brianne Laffey and freshman Rachel Brand each added a goal. Laffey and Gray posted three and two assists, respectively, to pace the Canisius attack.
Sophomore Allison Daley anchored the Canisius defense with seven stops in net, which included a number of key saves toward the end of the game. Brown led the defensive unit with a career-best five caused turnovers.
The Colonials scored the opening goal of the game 3:17 into the contest but the Griffs responded with four ?straight goals to take a lead it would never relinquish. Laffey started the run with an unassisted goal 43 seconds following Robert Morris' score. Martinez added two goals during the stretch and Curtis scored her first goal of the afternoon to give Canisius a 4-1 lead. The teams would both score five goals during the remainder of the opening half to head into intermission with the Griffs leading, 9-6.
Robert Morris scored two goals 34 seconds apart to start the second half, cutting Canisius' lead to one, 9-8. Curtis responded with her third goal of the afternoon and after Robert Morris once again cut its deficit to one, Brown scored off the free position to give Canisius an 11-9 advantage. However, Jillian Holwey scored two-consecutive goals for the Colonials to knot the game at 11.
On the ensuing draw control, Gray picked up one of her career-best five draw controls and found Curtis open in front of the goal. The sophomore then found the back of the net for the game-winning score with just 3:18 left in regulation. Martinez would seal the Griffs' victory by scoring with 1:31 remaining in the contest.
Howley and Courtney Sicinski led the Colonials with three goals, while Erica Webb stopped 14 shots in goal.
Canisius is back in action on Friday, hosting Navy. First draw at the Demske Sports Complex is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs won 13 of the final 18 draw controls, led by Gray's five ... Canisius has won all five games against the Colonials ... Laffey is now tied for sixth in school history with 18 career assists ... Gray is just five points behind Whitney Card for second in the school's record book with 159 career points.
