Canisius junior Sabrina Fitzgerald had three points, scoring the game's second goal in the 83rd minute, while senior goalkeeper Kailee DeFranks made ten saves for her fifth shutout of the season as the host Golden Griffins held off visiting Rider 2-0 in a MAAC women's soccer contest Wednesday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex. The win closes the season for the Griffs, who end on a two-game win streak, giving the Blue and Gold a 6-11-2 overall record, with a 4-6-0 mark in MAAC play this season.
After the two teams played a scoreless first half, the Griffs jumped on top in the 63rd minute on a goal from freshman Emma Westwater. Westwater received a lead pass from Fitzgerald and was able to sneak the ball past the Rider goalkeeper and a would be defender. The goal is the second in the young career of Westwater, while Fitzgerald tallied her second assist of the year on the play.
The second goal of the night for Canisius was put home by Fitzgerald after she and senior Brittany Krause led a charge for the Griffs with a nice set up pass coming from Krause. Finishing the game with three points, Fitzgerald now has four on the year playing in only eight games.
DeFranks made three saves in the first half and posted seven more stops in the game's final 45 minutes getting her sixth career victory in the process. The Golden Griffins were outshot in the game by a 17-10 margin, while allowing 10 shots on goal.
“I'm very pleased with our kids,” said head coach Todd Clark. “It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it was effective. Emma Westwater's goal is classic Emma Westwater, she's not the most skillful player technically, but she's an awful hard worker and we've benefited from her putting her body on the line.”
“Sabrina who we didn't have the benefit of until the last three or four games, has shown why were so excited to have her back and maybe what could have been,” said Clark.
As the season comes to a close Clark is proud of the effort the team made battling through injuries to several key players and refusing to give up.
“I didn't expect all of the injuries, but I would look at the end of this year and be pretty pleased with the effort and effort is something you can't negotiate,” said Clark.
The Griffs ended the season with a 4-3-1 home record, including the final two victories of the year.
Game Notes: The game was the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Canisius holding a 10-9-1series lead… The loss for Rider will take them out of the running for the second spot in the MAAC playoffs, which would have given them a first round bye… The assist by Krause was her first of the year giving her nine total points to end the season… The game marks the end of six senior careers for the Blue and Gold including, Brittany Bowen, Mattia Cornell, Kailee DeFranks, Brittany Krause, Alexis Kroese and Tara McPherson.
