Box Score The Canisius College men's lacrosse team won its first game of the 2011 season, earning a victory over conference foe Marist on Saturday afternoon, 7-5. The Griffs are now 1-6 on the season and 1-1 in MAAC play, while the Red Foxes drop to 1-6 and 0-2 against conference teams.
The Griffs earned the victory thanks to a strong defensive effort in the game. Junior Sean Callahan recorded a career-high 14 saves, while yielding just five goals (.737 save percentage). Canisius was also perfect while a man down, killing all eight of Marist's extra-man opportunities.
On the offensive side, junior Simon Giourmetakis led the Griffs with four points and three goals. Seniors Nick LoCoco and Greg Michael and juniors Jimmy Haney and Brendan O'Hagan also scored for Canisius in the win.
The Griffs opened the scoring in the contest, netting the game's first goal for only the second time this season. Haney tallied an unassisted goal with 7:35 left in the first for his fifth score of the season and the 1-0 lead. After Marist tied the game, Giourmetakis netted two goals off of rebounds, including one with just one tick left in the period, as the teams headed into the second quarter with Canisius leading, 3-1.
After a scoreless second frame, Canisius added its lead in the third quarter to take control of the contest. LoCoco found himself open on the goal crease and buried a pass from Giourmetakis with 6:20 remaining in the third. The Griffs then added two goals in the final minute of the period for a 6-1 lead. Giourmetakis completed his hat trick with 58 seconds left in the quarter and then Michael scored with six ticks left, connecting off a feed from junior Brandon Bortignon for the five-goal advantage after three.
The Red Foxes attempted a rally in the fourth but could not dig out of their early hole. Marist ended a nearly 40-minute drought with 10:55 left in the game but O'Hagan stretched the Canisius lead back to five with his fifth score of the season. Marist would then tally the next three goals to pull within two, 7-5, with 4:55 remaining. The Red Foxes had a late man-up chance to get even closer but could not get the ball past Callahan as the Griffs secured the 7-5 victory.
Marist outshot Canisius 32-24 in the contest, including a 15-2 edge in the fourth quarter. Aedan Herman recorded three points and two goals to lead the Red Foxes, while Brendan Price stopped nine shots in goal.
Junior Justin Maderer won 60 percent of his faceoffs (9-15) to lead the Griffs at the X.
Canisius is off for the next two weeks before returning to MAAC action at VMI. Game time on April 9 is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game Notes: Callahan recorded 13 saves on two previous occasions ... Giourmetakis has recorded at least three points in each of his last five games ... Bortignon's assist was the first point of his collegiate career ... The home team is now 15-3 in the series between Canisius and Marist.
