The Canisius College women's lacrosse team cruised to an 18-6 victory over local rival Niagara on Tuesday night. The Senior Day victory improves the Griffs to 8-7 on the season and 3-1 in MAAC play.
"It was a good team effort tonight," said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. "It was great to see everybody on the team contribute. Tonight is definitely a confident booster and we need to keep moving in the right direction from here."
Junior Carly Quinn led the Griffs with seven points, matching a career high. The junior netted two goals and added a personal best five assists. Sophomore Megan Oosting also set career highs with six points and five goals in the victory.
Junior Ashley Curtis got the Griffs going early in the contest. The junior netted two goals in the first 54 seconds and Canisius never looked back. The Griffs started the contest on an 8-0 run, with Curtis netting four of the team's goals. Canisius entered the intermission with an 11-4 advantage.
In the second half, the Griffs continued to dominate Niagara (1-9, 0-4 MAAC). Canisius scored the first six goals of the stanza before the Purple Eagles recorded a tally. Oosting led the Griffs' charge in the second half, scoring three goals, as Canisius earned the 12-goal margin of victory.
Curtis finished the contest with four goals and an assist, while junior Taylor Gray netted two scores. Seniors Brett Poissant and Marissa Brown, junior Brianne Laffey and sophomores Theresa Walton and Kristy Wilenskey rounded out the scoring for Canisius with a goal each.
Junior Allison Daley and freshman Gina Molfetta split time in goal for the Griffs, combining to make seven saves in the winning effort.
The Griffs dominated all statistics en route to the victory. Canisius held a 34-20 advantage in shots, 19-7 edge in draw controls and won the ground ball battle, 25-18. Rianne Farrugia led the Purple Eagles with four goals, while Alma Aponte recorded eight saves in net.
Canisius returns to action on Friday, playing at Iona in a MAAC matchup. First draw is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius won six home games this season, matching the school record held by the 2005 and 2006 teams ... The Griffs finished their home schedule with a 6-3 mark ... Canisius has won the last six games against Niagara after losing the first 10 games in the series ... Curtis now has 42 goals on the season, tying Ashley Gray (2009) for the third most in school history ... Canisius honored its five seniors - Marissa Brown, Curtis, Poissant, Alyson Brown and Alison Rusak - before the game in a Senior Day ceremony.
