The Canisius College men's soccer team matched its school record by winning its fifth-straight game, overcoming a late rally to earn a 3-2 overtime victory against St. Bonaventure on Friday night. With the win, the Griffs improve to 5-2-0 on the season, while the Bonnies drop to 0-4-0.
After allowing two goals in the final six minutes of regulation, freshmen midfielder Lucian Preis rescued the victory for the Griffs with his first collegiate tally 3:34 into the extra frame. Off a corner kick from junior Chris Berardi, the freshman sent a rocket into the back of the net for the 3-2 win and the Griffs' fifth-straight victory.
“For 80-plus minutes, I thought we played really well,” said Canisius head coach Dermot McGrane. “It was very disappointing to give up two goals in the last five minutes. I'm happy we got the win but we used nearly every field player on the roster tonight and some players need to perform better if they want to see the field again.”
The Griffs started the contest strong and earned a 1-0 lead thanks to the first collegiate goal from freshman Mathew Santos. Senior Asani Samuels crossed the ball from the outside, which the St. Bonaventure goalie could not control. Santos was there to knock it in from two yards out for the 1-0 Canisius advantage just less than 10 minutes into the game.
Canisius then doubled its advantage to two in the 62nd minute when senior Derek Maier netted his second goal of the season. Sophomore defender Thomas Teupen found junior defender Alex De Carolis open on the outside. De Carolis then crossed the ball to Maier, who sent a strong header past the netminder for the 2-0 lead.
A poor three-minute stretch, however, found the Griffs needing overtime to extend their winning streak. The Bonnies pulled to within one with exactly six minutes remaining when Jaskamal Singh headed the ball off the post and in off a St. Bonaventure free kick. The game was then tied just 2:11 later when Kieran Toland slipped a shot past the Canisius goalie after a throw-in was headed back by a Griff defender. Toland's goal with 3:49 remaining tied the game but only led to Preis' heroics in the overtime.
Canisius finished the game with a 21-14 advantage in shots on the night, which included a 14-3 effort in the first half. Both junior Andrew Coughlin for Canisius and Jeremy Figler for St. Bonaventure recorded three saves.
The Griffs look to continue their winning ways on Sunday when the team wraps up non-conference play with a home game against St. Francis (Pa.). Kickoff at the Demske Sports Complex is set for 1 p.m.
Game Notes: In the last two seasons, Canisius is 6-0-2 in overtime and 8-2-5 overall since McGrane took over as head coach in 2011 … The Griffs also won five-consecutive games from August 31 to September 14 during the 2012 season … All five of Canisius' wins during the winning streak have been by one goal … Coughlin had his shutout streak snapped at 328:11, the longest run by a Griff since John Ford went 368:17 of scoreless action during the 1996 season … Canisius has won four-straight games over the Bonnies for the first time in school history … Canisius has won its first four home games of the season for the first time since 1976 and its five-game winning streak at the Demske Sports Complex dating back to last season is a new school record, topping the previous standard of four.
