The Canisius College men's lacrosse team won its MAAC opener for the fourth-straight season with a 12-9 victory at Siena on Saturday. The win, which is the first for the Griffs in 11 years against the Saints in Loudonville, moves Canisius' record to 2-2 on the season, while Siena drops to 1-5.

“Every MAAC game is a battle and we knew that going into the season,” said Canisius head coach Randy Mearns. “Today, we had a total team effort in all facets of the game. The defensive game plan was solid and very effective, we were strong at the faceoff X, Liam Ganzhorn was great in net and the offense executed when we needed it most. I feel like we have taken a step in learning how to win and we are continuing to get better.”

Five different Griffs tallied at least three points for Canisius in the winning effort. Junior Jeff Edwards and sophomore Connor Kearnan each recorded a game-high four points with a two-goal and two-assist performance. Senior Nick Tuttle and sophomore Ryan McKee both netted hat tricks, while junior Lewis Vaccaro posted three points on a goal and two assists. Senior Mike Perrino rounded out the scoring for Canisius with his first goal of the 2016 campaign.

Sophomore netminder Liam Ganzhorn anchored the team's defense and earned his first collegiate victory with nine saves between the pipes. Sophomore Steven Coss led the Griffs at faceoff X, winning 66.7 percent of his restarts with a career-best 14 victories on 21 attempts.

In a back-and-forth first half, neither team was able to grab more than a one-goal lead but Canisius was able to head into the intermission thanks to a late tally. The Saints held a 3-2 advantage with under four minutes remaining in the second quarter before Edwards scored and Tuttle added a man-up goal just 41 seconds later for a 4-3 Canisius lead. After Siena knotted the contest at four, Vaccaro scored with just 1.5 seconds remaining in the half for a 5-4 Griffs lead they would not relinquish.

The schools continued to play a tight contest in the third quarter with both Canisius goals in the period being answered by a Siena tally as the schools went into the final frame with the Griffs ahead, 7-6.

Canisius pulled away in the fourth quarter, however. Kearnan and McKee netted goals 79 seconds apart to give the Griffs a three-goal advantage, 9-6. After Siena answered with a goal, Canisius rallied off three-straight scores for a commanding 12-7 lead with 4:53 left in the game. Siena netted the final two goals of the contest but it was too little, too late as the Griffs opened conference play with a 12-9 victory.

Siena finished the contest with a 47-35 edge in shots but the Griffs held the edge in shots on goal, 23-18. The Saints also held the slight edge in ground balls, 28-26, while Canisius won the faceoff battle, 15-9.

Brian Prunty led the Saints with five goals, while Tommy Cordts took the loss in net with eight saves.

Canisius looks to continue its winning ways in MAAC play next weekend with a road contest at Marist. The schools are set to battle in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., beginning at noon.

Game Notes: The Griffs had lost their last four contests against Siena in Loudonville with their last win coming in 2005, 7-5 … It also marked the first time that Canisius defeated the Saints by more than a goal since a 15-8 victory in 2006 … The Griffs scored more fourth-quarter goals in Saturday's win than in their first three games combined (five to four) … The hat trick for McKee was the first of his collegiate career … Coss' previous high in faceoff wins was six, accomplished twice … Kearnan is the first Griff to record at least four points in three-straight games since current assistant coach Joe Rautentrauch also had a three-game run to finish the 2013 season.