A late strike by senior Asani Samuels and a clean sheet by junior netminder Andrew Coughlin helped put the exclamation point on a game the Canisius College men's soccer team controlled throughout as the Griffs earned a 1-0 road win at Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon. Canisius won its fourth-straight game and is now 4-2-0 on the season, while the Colonials drop to 3-3-1.
“Robert Morris is a very good team this year and I thought we outplayed them today,” said Canisius head coach Dermot McGrane. “This was the most complete performance by the team since I've been at Canisius. We possessed the ball well, created good chances to score and defended very well.”
Canisius dominated the contest throughout and were eventually rewarded by Samuels' late strike. Right from the opening whistle, however, the Griffs had a number of great chances to take the early advantage. Samuels would force a save in the opening seconds of the contest and in the 11th minute, senior defender Jon Cary just missed scoring off a corner kick when his header from close range hit the crossbar. Then shortly before the break, senior Derek Maier also just missed his chance when his 1-on-1 attempt with the goalie went wide.
After the intermission, Coughlin made a pair of nice saves off long-range attempts by the Colonials before Samuels put the contest away with his team-leading fourth goal of the season. In the 83rd minute, the senior forward made a number of moves past Robert Morris defenders along the edge of the box before finishing inside the right post for the game's only tally.
The Colonials were then unable to really trouble Coughlin in the final-seven plus minutes as the Griffs held on the for the 1-0 victory. Coughlin matched his career with six saves in the winning effort, recording his second-straight shutout and his third in just six games during the 2014 season.
The Griffs finished the contest with a 16-11 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks. Brenden Alfery recorded five saves in the losing effort for the Colonials.
Canisius returns to action next Friday with a home game against St. Bonaventure. The Griffs put their four-game winning streak on the line against their Big 4 rival with game time at the Demske Sports Complex scheduled for 5 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs are just one shy of the school record with four-straight wins. Canisius won five-straight during the 2012 season … Canisius handed the Colonials just their second loss in their last 12 home games (now 9-2-1) … The Griffs are now 3-2-1 against Robert Morris in the last six years and 4-10-3 overall … The win was the first for Canisius at Robert Morris since 1999, ending a five-game winless streak in Moon Township … In just six games during his first season at Canisius, Coughlin is already just one shy of the school record with his three shutouts in 2014 … Coughlin also recorded six saves in a shutout victory against Seton Hall on Sept. 22, 2012 when he was a member of the Syracuse soccer team … Samuels has matched his career high with his fourth goal of the season (also accomplished in 2012) and has accounted for 57.1 percent of the team's goals in 2014 (4-of-7) … The game was delayed 25 minutes during the first half for a Robert Morris injury.
