The Canisius College women's lacrosse team used a strong second half to pull away from Manhattan on Senior Day, 17-7. The Griffs, who outscored the Lady Jaspers 10-1 in the second period, remain unbeaten in MAAC play with a 3-0 mark and improve to 7-7 overall.
“This was a great team victory,” said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. “It was nice to send the seniors out in style. We got two huge wins this weekend and this team is peaking and raising its level of play at the right time.”
Seniors Ashley Gray and Chelsea Martinez led the Canisius attack in their final home game. Gray posted a team-high six points, scoring five goals and adding an assist, while Martinez matched her classmate with five scores. Martinez also posted two draw controls to set the Canisius career draw control record with 116 and tie the single-season mark of 48.
Junior Brett Poissant added a hat trick for the Griffs, while junior Marissa Brown, sophomores Ashley Curtis and Jackie Loson plus freshman Megan Oosting each tallied a goal. Curtis and sophomore Taylor Gray paced the Canisius attack with three assists each.
Sophomore Allison Daley had a strong game in net, posting 16 saves while yielding just seven scores. Brown led the Griffs with five caused turnovers, five draw controls and five ground balls to anchor the defensive unit.
The first half was closely contested throughout, with neither team grabbing more than a one-goal advantage until Poissant scored with 45 seconds left in the period. Manhattan answered with a goal just 18 seconds later as the two teams entered intermission with Canisius leading, 7-6.
The Griffs then dominated the second half of play. Martinez scored to open the period and was followed by two Poissant goals as Canisius stretched its lead to four, 10-6. Manhattan would respond with a goal but the Griffs then notched the final seven scores of the game en route to the 17-7 victory.
Canisius outshot the Lady Japsers, 40-28, and also held a 26-17 advantage in ground balls. Manhattan (8-4, 3-2 MAAC) was led by Julia Lavelle, who tallied three goals, and Allison Brown, who recorded 13 saves in net.
The Griffs return to action on Wednesday, squaring off at rival Niagara. The Battle of the Bridge grudge match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Martinez broke a tie with former teammate Erica Nasca for the school's career draw control mark. She tied the single-season record set by Alana Chan in 2005 ... Martinez has now totaled 42 goals this season, the second-most in school history. Only Whitney Card scored more goals in a single-season, posting 53 in 2006 ... Ashley Gray is now just four goals shy of Card's career goal record. Gray has scored 133 goals during her career, while Card totaled 137 from 2005 to 2008 ... Poissant has tallied 11 points in the last four games (10g, 1a) after recording four points in the first 10 games of the season (1g, 3a) ... Canisius has won three of the last four games against Manhattan after the Lady Jaspers took the first eight games of the series ... In addition to Gray and Martinez, the Griffs also honored seniors Shannon Callahan, Shelby Grigg and Sarah Podlesh prior to Sunday's game.
