The Canisius women's soccer team fell 3-1 to Sacred Heart Friday afternoon, giving them a 1-3-2 record on the season.
The lone goal for the Golden Griffins was scored by Taylor Kugler in the 12th minute, giving her four on the season, and ties her for first on the team with Brittany Krause.
“The shot was from deep in the midfield, a fine goal,” said head coach Todd Clark. “Taylor has really been a standout for us all year, gives a tremendous effort game in and game out.”
Although the Griffs jumped out to the early 1-0 lead, they were unable to capitalize on the fast start. With nine minutes left in the first half, the Pioneers tied the game on a penalty kick by Annika Simmons.
The Pioneers opened up the second half with a goal in the 49th minute to take a 2-1 lead and would again score on a penalty kick by Alex Mesropyn to put the game out of reach.
“Today was as winnable a game as we've had all season,” said Clark. “But to me the only stat that matters at the end of the game is goals.”
The two key penalties that led to goals were seen by Clark as mental lapses that can't happen on a winning team.
“The team defense needs to improve overall,” said Clark. “We had good play from many of our defenders, but as a whole it needs to get better.”
Clark was impressed by the play of junior defender Callie Good, calling her a leader and warrior, and hopes to see that consistency out of other members of the team as the season progresses.
The Golden Griffins will look to find the winning way this Sunday when they face NJIT at 1 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex.
Game Notes:
The Griffs recorded five shots on goal in the game, while the Pioneers recorded 10. Canisius goaltender Kailee DeFranks moved her season goals against average to 1.61 on the season to go with a .778 save percentage.
