Canisius freshman Ronja Gustafsson scored the game's only goal in the 48th minute and senior goalkeeper Kailee DeFranks made six stops for her fourth shutout of the season as the host Golden Griffins held off visiting Saint Peter's 1-0 in a MAAC women's soccer contest Saturday night at the Demske Sports Complex. The win, which snapped Canisius' two-game losing skid, moves the Blue and Gold to 5-11-2 overall and 3-6-0 in MAAC play, while the Peacocks dropped their eight straight to fall to 2-14-0 overall and 0-9-0 in league play.
After the two teams played a scoreless first half, the Griffs put the lone goal on the scoreboard just 2:57 into the second stanza on the power of Gustafsson's second goal of the season. After Saint Peter's cleared the ball to midfield, Canisius junior Sabrina Fitzgerald settled the ball and chipped a lead pass to Gustafsson, who led the offensive charge into the Griffs' offensive third. Gustafsson pulled up and ripped a shot from 25-yards out, a shot that bounced over the out-stretched arms of Saint Peter's goalkeeper Kelly Jamieson and into the back of the goal. The assist that was credited to Fitzgerald stands as her first point of the season.
DeFranks made three stops in the first half and posted three more saves in the game's final 45 minutes en route to her fifth career victory in goal. Jamieson made nine saves for Saint Peter's, which was outshot by Canisius 21-18 for the game. The Griffs held possession for most of the second half, with 12 of the team's 21 shots coming after the intermission.
“I thought this was the first time we have put back-to-back good efforts together,” Canisius head coach Todd Clark said. “One was a tough loss to a good team [at Niagara Wednesday night] and then tonight we were able to win with a relatively dominating performance. It was nice to be able to play all the seniors and send them out with a win on their Senior Night.”
Gustafsson was credited with four shots in the win for Canisius, which has won 13 of its last 14 meetings with Saint Peter's. Fitzgerald and senior Brittany Krause were also credited with four shots in the victory. Saint Peter's freshman Barbara Paiva and junior Genesis Castrellon had five shots each in the losing effort for the Peacocks.
Canisius will close out the 2015 regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 28 when the Griffs play host to Rider. Game time at the Demske Sports Complex is set for 4 p.m.
Game Notes: This was the 25th all-time meeting between these two programs, with Canisius holding a 20-5-0 lead in the series… The loss for Saint Peter's was the program's 34th straight road defeat, which dates back to Oct. 28, 2011… Gustafsson now leads the team with two game-winning goals this year… Canisius' last three wins have all come by one goal… Prior to the start of the game, Canisius honored six members of the senior class of 2015.
