Senior Taylor Giglio recorded five goals and three assists, as the Canisius women's lacrosse team defeated Fairfield this afternoon, 12-6, from the Demske Sports Complex, avenging their 9-7 loss to the Stags in the MAAC Championship game a year ago.
“It was a big win for the team,” said head coach Scott Teeter. “We have a young group of girls that have played a tough non-conference schedule so far, it was good to see them get a taste of winning against a good team.”
The Griffs battled back from an early 3-0 deficit, scoring on a goal from freshman Jourdan Roemer on a beautiful setup pass from sophomore Erica Evans at 12:08 in the first half, cutting the Stags lead to two. The Golden Griffins quickly added another at 10:35, on a goal by Giglio, to make it 3-2 in favor of Fairfield. The teams would trade goals to close out the half, including Giglio's second goal, for a 4-3 halftime tally.
Out of the break the Griffs kicked things into gear, scoring the first five goals of the second (six unanswered) to take a commanding 8-4 lead with 13 minutes remaining. Scoring for the Blue and Gold were Evans, as well as Roemer and fellow freshman Tessa Chad, who each scored twice during the run.
Fairfiled would add a goal from Riley Hellstein, who recorded two on the day for the Stags, cutting the Griffs lead to 8-5 at 10:13. Canisius would answer however, as Giglio scored the third of her five goals at 8:05, with the Golden Griffins closing out the contest on a 4-1 run.
“Coming out of the gate I thought we played really well, we were winning the battle in draw controls, but couldn't get things going offensively,” Teeter said. “In the second half the shots started falling for us and once we grabbed the lead it was tough for them to respond.
Franco, Guy, Nelson and O' Connell were solid defensively and we didn't give up many second opportunities. Van Laeken also played well for us in net.”
In total, three Griffs recorded multi-goal games, Giglio (5), Chad (3) and Roemer (3), with Giglio now tied for the team lead in goals at 18 with Evans. The senior standout is also leading the team in assists (7) and total points (25), with her strong effort.
Canisius will next take on hometown rival St. Bonaventure, who they will host this Monday, Mar. 28, from the Demske Sports Complex at 1 p.m.
Game Notes: The Blue and Gold won the battle in draw controls by a tally of 13-6… The Griffs were nearly perfect on clear attempts for the game, getting 11 of 12 clears… Sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca VanLaeken recorded five saves on eleven shots on goal, while also leading the team in ground balls with three… Evans led the Griffs in draw controls with five… Giglio's eight point performance is the highest single-game point total for the Griffs this season… Sophomore's Megan Maloney and Nicole Nelson each were credited with a caused turnover in the contest... The Griffs are now 2-1 at home this season and are 1-0 in conference play with the victory.
