Freshman Brianna Smith, the 2010 MAAC Rookie of the Year, scored in the first half and senior goalkeeper Lesley Ivinac made six saves to secure the 1-0 shutout victory as the Canisius College women's soccer team defeated the Rider Broncs in Baltimore Friday afternoon. With the win, the Golden Griffins have advanced to Sunday's Chick-fil-A MAAC Women's Soccer Championship game, where the team will meet Siena at 1 p.m.
"We definitely didn't have our best game today and in the defensive zone it was pretty chaotic but everyone did a great job," said Ivinac. "Once we got our ground, we played much better soccer."
Canisius struck first in the contest as Smith took a crossing pass from junior Jenny Griffin and put it past Rider goalkeeper Alex Post to put the Griffs up 1-0. The Broncs would attempt to knot things up in the waning seconds of the first half when Rider freshman Jennifer Meier took a shot close inside the box, but senior Ivinac was up to the task keeping the score 1-0 in favor of the Blue and Gold.
The fourth-seeded Broncs came out of the intermission and played inspired soccer, controlling play for most of the half, recording three shots and holding the Canisius offense in check. Canisius wouldn't record its first shot of the second frame until the 77th minute, but the Canisius defesne stood tall and blocked two shots from point-blank range to help preserve the clean sheet.
"I thought Rider outplayed us but we were able to grind out a victory today and that's a mark of a good team," Canisius College head coach Jim Wendling said. "Getting a goal from Bri Smith early in the game was a great opportunity for us but we have to play better heading into Sunday."
Ivinac ended the day with six saves to earn her 11th win and fourth shutout of the 2010 season. Junior Kelly Reinwald was absent from the score sheet, but led the team in shots with four.
The win allowed the Griffs to advance to the MAAC Women's Soccer Championship game for the second time in school history. The top-seeded Griffs will take on No. 3 seed Siena Sunday at 1 p.m., for the right to represent the MAAC in next weekend's NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament. Gametime between the Griffs and the Saints is set for 1 p.m.
Game Notes: With the win, Canisius is now 8-6-1 all-time against the Rider Broncs...That is the sixth MAAC tournament win in the program's history and the team is is now 6-6-0 all-time in the postseason... Canisius last appeared in the MAAC Championship game in 1994, losing to Loyola 2-1... Wendling is now 2-2 all-time in MAAC Tournament contests... Ivinac is the first goalkeeper in program history to record a shutout in the MAAC Women's Soccer Championship Tournament.
