The Canisius College women's lacrosse team battled nationally-ranked Vanderbilt to the very end on Sunday afternoon but a late rally gave the seventh-ranked Commodores a 10-8 victory at the Demske Sports Complex. Vanderbilt, who netted the last four goals of the game in the two-goal victory, improves to 4-1 on the year, while the Griffs drop to 2-3.
"We played one of our better games of the season today," said Canisius head coach Scott Teeter. "We had a much better effort today than we did on Friday. Any time you play a ranked opponent, you're trying to give yourself a chance at the end of the game. We were right in there until the final buzzer and I'm proud of how we played. I thought our entire defense played well and offensively, we were able to possess the ball, which is the key to our game."
Senior midfielder Megan Oosting led the Griffs with four points and three goals. Freshman Tori Quinn recorded three points on a goal and two assists, while senior Theresa Walton chipped in two tallies. Senior Carly Quinn and junior Lindsey Morgan also added two points with a goal and assist each.
The Commodores wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, taking the opening draw and scoring just 18 seconds into the contest. Canisius responded with Oosting's first goal of the game but Vanderbilt was more advantageous early in gaining a 6-3 lead with 7:40 left in the first half.
The momentum then swung the way of Canisius, starting with two goals to finish the opening stanza. Walton netted her first goal of the game with 6:42 left in the first and Carly Quinn scored with 2:55 remaining in the period as the teams headed into the intermission with a slim lead for the Commodores, 6-5.
Canisius continued its strong play early in the second frame, netting the first three goals of the half. Oosting tied the game just 2:52 into the period and then assisted on Morgan's tally with 21:23 left in the game to give the Griffs their first lead of the contest, 7-6. Walton netted her second goal of the afternoon to extend the Canisius run to 5-0 as the team claimed a two-goal lead, 8-6, with 17:37 left.
The Commodores responded after calling a timeout, netting a free-position goal just 45 seconds after Canisius' goal to end a 20:48 scoreless streak. Vanderbilt added a second tally just 50 ticks later to knot the game at eight. Ally Carey then netted two more free-position goals for Vanderbilt, scoring with 8:52 and 5:16 left in the game, as the nationally-ranked Commodores escaped with the 10-8 victory, derailing Canisius' upset bid.
Vanderbilt finished the game with a 23-15 edge in shots in the contest and converted 4-of-8 free-position chances with the Griffs going 1-for-4. Ally Carey led the Commodores with five points and four goals - all coming from the 8-meter arc - while Chelsea Pasfield stopped 3-of-6 shots on goal in relief to earn the victory.
Canisius returns to action on Tuesday, playing at Cornell. Game time in Ithaca is set for 4 p.m.
Game Notes: At No. 7, Vanderbilt is the highest-ranked team to ever play at the Demske Sports Complex ... Notre Dame was the previous high team that the Griffs hosted as the No. 8 school in the country in 2007 ... The Griffs are now 0-12 all-time against nationally-ranked foes ... The two-goal margin of defeat is the closest for Canisius against a ranked team, topping the six-goal (14-8) loss to Albany last season ... Canisius is now 0-2 all-time against Vanderbilt.
