A goal in the sixth minute proved to be the difference on Wednesday afternoon as Siena earned a 1-0 victory over the Canisius College men's soccer team at the Demske Sports Complex. The Griffs drop to 3-7-1 on the season and 0-4-0 in MAAC play, while the Saints improved to 4-6-2 and 3-1-0 against conference foes.
“It was disappointing to see us concede a goal so early in the game,” said Canisius head coach Dermot McGrane. “I thought we looked rattled for the first 20 minutes, however, we played our way back in the game during the first half. Our team put in a good performance in the second half but the next piece of the puzzle is to improve our finishing. If we are getting 17 shot opportunities, we need to put more than three on frame.”
The Saints started the contest strong and put Canisius on its heels during the opening 20 minutes of play. Siena scored the only goal it would need on the afternoon in the sixth minute when David Itoafa poked in a loose ball from five yards out for the 1-0 lead. Siena nearly doubled its advantage minutes later only to be whistled for offsides with a 2-on-0 break.
Overall, Siena held a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal during the opening 45 minutes of play with only senior netminder Andrew Coughlin keeping the Griffs within striking distance with five first-half stops.
Canisius turned the pressure on in the second half but could not convert any of its chances. The Griffs outshot the Saints, 10-4, in the stanza and held Siena without a shot on goal after the half but the equalizer evaded Canisius as the early Siena goal stood for nearly 85 minutes and the 1-0 final score.
The Griffs finished the game with a 17-12 advantage in shots but only three of the team's 17 opportunities landed on target (compared to 6-of-12 for Siena). Canisius also had a slight edge in corner kicks, 6-5.
Coughlin recorded all five of his saves during the first half of play, while Gianni Carillo made three save to earn the clean sheet for the Saints.
The Griffs continue to look for their first MAAC victory of the 2015 season with a home contest against Iona on Saturday. The schools are set to battle at the Demske Sports Complex with a 7 p.m. start time.
Game Notes: The win for Siena ended a streak of eight-straight victories by the home team … The Saints had not won at Canisius since a 4-3 overtime victory in 1997, ending a seven-game home winning streak in the series for the Griffs … Canisius has started MAAC play with four-straight losses for the first time since the 2005 campaign … The Griffs have been shut out in three of their four conference games this season … Canisius has scored the first goal of the game in only two of its 11 games this season.
