The Canisius women's lacrosse team defeated MAAC rival Siena 12-11 this afternoon in overtime, on a goal from freshman Tessa Chad, moving the Griffs to a perfect 4-0 in conference play. The Griffs are now 7-5 overall, defeating the Saints for the 11th consecutive time.
“We have to give a lot of credit to Siena they played a great game against us today,” said head coach Scott Teeter. “We had trouble being consistent throughout the game, but we were able to come out on top.”
Sophomore Erica Evans led the Griffs offensively, scoring five times with eight total points, including the assist on the game-winner. The midfielder now has 33 goals and 43 points, both team highs.
The Griffs and Saints battled throughout the first half, with the score tied at 7-7 at the break. Evans scored three of her five goals in the first half, while senior Taylor Giglio scored twice.
The Saints would begin the second half going on a 3-1 run during the first ten minutes of play for a 10-8 lead at 21:16 remaining.
Evans would add her fourth goal of the game to cut things to 10-9 at the seventeen-minute mark, before the teams traded goals to put the score at 11-10, the Canisius goal being scored by sophomore Allie Stewart at 7:41.
Evans played hero for the Blue and Gold down the stretch, tying the game at 11 with 2:17 remaining. The game would eventually be sent to overtime, where Chad put home the game winner an a pass from Evans, with the play beginning on a caused turnover and ground ball from sophomore Megan Maloney.
“Erica played well in all phases off the game for us today, not only offensively,” Teeter said. “Megan came up big for us on defense throughout the entire game, including the final sequence.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca VanLaeken recorded three saves in the overtime victory, moving her record to 7-4 on the year.
With the win, the Griffs remain undefeated in the MAAC, along with Monmouth, who they will face this Saturday Apr. 23 from the Demske Sports Complex at Noon.
Game Notes: Evans has now scored at least five goals in four contests this season and has recorded 12 goals with 17 points in her last two games… Evans filled the stat sheet once again, adding four ground balls, five draw controls and four caused turnovers to her stat line... Giglio's two goals and one assist rank her second on the team in both goals (24) and points (37), while remaining first in assists (13) on the year… Maloney added a goal, two ground balls and four caused turnovers, including the turnover that created the game-winner… Maloney currently ranks second behind Evans in caused turnovers with 12… Chad's game winner was her second of the day and her 23rd overall, good for third on the team…Freshman Brenna Shanahan played an important role in the game as well, recording four draw controls… Sophomore Lauren Smolensky also added a goal for the Golden Griffins, while recording two assists.
