The Canisius men's soccer teams heads north to close out the 2016 regular season at long-time rival Niagara Wednesday night. Kickoff in Lewiston, New York is set for 7 p.m.
A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
• Canisius enters Wednesday's “Battle of the Bridge” game with an overall mark of 8-7-2 to go with a 4-3-2 MAAC mark.
• The Griffs are unbeaten in their last four outings, posting a 3-0-1 mark since losing to Iona Oct. 15.
• Canisius starts the regular-season finale with 14 points in MAAC play, which has the team in sixth-place in the league's standings.
• A Canisius win, coupled with a Marist loss or tie at Siena, will grant the Griffs the No. 4 seed in the 2016 MAAC Men's Soccer Championship.
• The top-six teams in the MAAC standings earn a berth into the conference's postseason tournament. Seed Nos. 3 and 4 will host a first round game, which will be played Saturday, Nov. 4.
ONE WIN EQUALS HISTORY
• With a win on Wednesday, the Canisius men's soccer Class of 2016 will earn the distinction of being the winningest class in program history.
• The Class of 2015 won 32 games between 2012-15. This year's senior class has 32 wins as well after defeating Fairfield at home Oct. 29.
• The Griffs' next win this year will be the team's ninth of the season. The program has only won nine games in two previous years – 1980 and 2014.
OWN GOAL LIFTS CANISIUS OVER FAIRFIELD
• Canisius ended a five-game losing skid to MAAC-rival Fairfield with a 1-0 victory at home Oct. 29.
• Canisius' goal was an own-goal, after a Fairfield defender misplayed a clearing attempt into his own net.
• That scoring play was set-up by sophomore Melvin Blair, who carried the ball into the box and dribbled around five Fairfield defenders before losing possession inside the six-yard box.
• Redshirt junior Marco Trivellato made five stops en route to his fourth shutout of the season. Fairfield outshot Canisius 20-8, but only five of the Stags' attempts were on frame.
TRIVELLATO HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS
• Redshirt-junior Marco Trivellato ranks in the top-five in every goalkeeper statistical category within the MAAC.
• Trivellato ranks third in the MAAC in goals against average (0.94) and fourth in the conference in save percentage at .808.
• Trivellato's 0.94 goals against average currently ranks second-best for a single season in school history, and his four shutouts this season makes him the eighth goalkeeper in program history to record four or more shutouts in a single season.
CANISIUS – NIAGARA SERIES HISTORY
• The Griffs and Purple Eagles are meeting for the 57th time in series history.
• Canisius has played Niagara more than any other school in the program's history.
• The Purple Eagles hold a 30-22-4 advantage in the series.
• Canisius' 2-0 win at home last season ended Niagara's seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) in the series, which dated back to 2008.
• The last time these teams played in Lewiston, the Big 4 Shield on the line, and the two rivals played to a 0-0 draw. Canisius won the rivalry game in 2014 via penalty kicks, 6-5.
ABOUT THE PURPLE EAGLES
• Niagara is in the midst of a 4-11-1 season and owns a 3-6-0 record in MAAC play.
• The Purple Eagles ended a two-game losing skid Oct. 29 with a 1-0 home win over Manhattan.
• Mackenzie Roach leads the team with seven points on the power of two goals and three assists. He is one of three players in Niagara's roster with two goals this season.
• Steve Casey has seen a majority of the time in goal for the Purple Eagles, having played in 15 games this season. He owns a 1.42 goals against average and a .716 save percentage. He's also earned all four of the team's wins this season.
