Lewiston, N.Y. – It was a bittersweet night for the Canisius men's soccer team. The Griffs played rival Niagara to a 0-0 draw and emerged victorious in a penalty shootout, 6-5, to win the inaugural Big 4 Shield – a competition among the four local soccer schools (Canisius, Niagara, Buffalo and St. Bonaventure).
Unfortunately, the Griffs just missed out on earning the final conference tournament bid in the crowded MAAC standings. Canisius finished the year in seventh place with 14 points and a 4-4-2 record – two points shy of the final MAAC Tournament bid. The Griffs matched a school record with nine wins during the 2014 campaign and finished with a 9-6-3 overall record.
“I felt we played well tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dermot McGrane. “We showed up right from the start and really controlled the play throughout the game. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the back of the net to get the win. Doing the penalty shootout to see who wins the shield added a level of excitement and it was nice to win the inaugural one.”
Despite dominating play during regulation, Canisius could not covert, forcing the extra sessions. The Griffs held a 19-5 advantage in shots during the first 90 minutes of action with a number of near misses. The team's best chance came in the first half when a shot by Nicoló Baudo hit the crossbar.
Both teams had chances in the overtime only to see the goalies come up with big saves. Twice in the first overtime, freshman Mathew Santos had looks only to be denied by the Niagara goalie. Junior Andrew Coughlin also came up big for the Griffs with two back-to-back saves midway through the period. In the second extra session, freshman Mo Kretschmer took a shot off a corner kick but it went over the crossbar as the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
The Big 4 Shield was then to be decided by a penalty shootout. After the first five kickers for both teams converted, Coughlin saved Nicholas Watson's attempt to give Canisius its first chance to win it. Junior Chris Berardi calmly fired the ball in from the spot to secure the shield for the Griffs.
Canisius finished the game with a 25-8 advantage in shots on the night. Coughlin recorded a career-best seven saves in the draw in addition to his one stop during the shootout. Steve Casey stopped 11 shots for the Purple Eagles.
Game Notes: Canisius needed a win and one of the following to advance to the MAAC Tournament: an Iona loss at Manhattan, a Monmouth loss or tie at Saint Peter's or a Siena loss or tie to Marist. All three schools posted wins on Wednesday with the Siena posting their victory in double overtime … The Griffs finished the year with six team records – setting new marks in team shutouts (8), fewest goals allowed (16), team goals against average (0.84) and home wins (6), while tying the record for most wins (9) and longest winning streak (5 from Sept. 5 to Sept. 26) – and individual records by junior Andrew Coughlin for goalie wins (9), shutouts (8) and goals against average (0.85) … The senior class also finished their careers with the most wins in school history (28) … The schools remain tied at five in the Battle of the Bridge series – an all-sports competition between the two rivals ... Canisius was 2-0-1 against the Big 4 rivals this season.
