The Canisius College men's soccer team lost its third-straight tight game by a goal, this time falling in overtime to Marist, 3-2, on Wednesday at the Demkse Sports Complex. The defeat drops the Griffs to 7-6-2 and 2-4-1 in MAAC play, while the Red Foxes improve to 6-5-3 and 2-3-1 against league foes.
“The team battled hard today and played well but it wasn't enough to get a win,” said Canisius head coach Dermot McGrane. “A couple of lapses in concentration on the back and in front of our opponent's goal cost us the game. We need to regroup from this loss and get ourselves prepared for our last three games of the year.”
The Griffs twice rallied from down a goal, including a late equalizer, only to see the Red Foxes net the game winner in overtime. Dylan MacVane finished with an open look from 15 yards out for the 3-2 Marist victory.
The Red Foxes claimed their first lead of the game when the team opened the scoring in the 32nd minute. Off a free kick, MJ Stellway sent a blast from 23 yards out into the net for the 1-0 advantage.
Canisius tied the contest in the 58th minute when senior Asani Samuels tallied his team-leading seventh goal of the season. A loose ball squirted out to senior Pat Conlon and from the corner of the box, Conlon connected with his classmate with Samuels heading the ball down and in from six yards out.
Marist, however, reclaimed its advantage in the 79th minute of play. After some contact near the edge of the box, numerous players stopped playing waiting for a whistle. The whistle never came, however, and Myles Ashong snuck past the defense and scored for the 2-1 lead.
The Griffs fought back though and senior defender A.C. LaFlore responded with his first collegiate goal in the 87th minute. A Marist defender blocked a cross from a Canisius corner kick but the ball came right back to junior Alex De Carolis. The defender then sent the ball right back in and this time, LaFlore was on the other end to head it into the back of the net for the 2-2 score late in regulation.
Canisius then carried the better of the play in the opening minutes of overtime with a number of good looks. The team's best opportunity came when freshman forward Anthony Mandola headed a ball toward goal but the Marist netminder, Mark Rajovic, made one of his eight saves on the night, setting up his teammates' heroics on the other end.
The Griffs finished the game with a 24-13 advantage in shots, while both teams had five corner kicks.
Canisius is back in action on Saturday with a road game at Manhattan. The schools are set to meet at 7 p.m.
Game Notes: LaFlore scored his first collegiate goal in the 61st career game for the defender … Canisius had not allowed more than one goal in a school-record seven-straight games prior to Wednesday's defeat … The Griffs have now lost consecutive home games after a school-record eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) at the Demske Sports Complex.
