The Canisius women's Lacrosse team defeated Battle of the Bridge Rival Niagara 13-2 this evening from Lewiston, N.Y., moving their season record to 11-5, while concluding the MAAC season with a perfect 8-0 record. The Griffs were perfect in MAAC Play for the third time in school history, while winning their ninth consecutive game, scoring at least 12 goals in each victory.

“The girls came out today and played extremely well for all 60 minutes,” said head coach Scott Teeter. “It is a great achievement for our team to go undefeated in the MAAC, we'll enjoy it, but remain focused on our ultimate goal.”

In the victory, sophomore Erica Evans tied the Canisius single-season record for goals with 59, while moving to fifth in single-season points (73) and fourth in single-season draw controls (71). Evans also recorded her 97^th career goal, ranking ninth in career goals in only her sophomore season.

“Erica once again had an outstanding game for us tonight,” Teeter said. “To be tied with one of our best ever players (Morgan Leonard) for goals in a season is a great achievement and we're extremely proud.”

The game opened with two goals from freshman Tessa Chad, putting her over the 30 goal mark for the season (31). The Purple Eagles would answer shortly after, scoring at 22:14, to make the score 2-1. Canisius struck back with force however, going on a 5-0 run to end the half with a 7-1 lead.

Evans led the Blue and Gold in the first half with three goals, while senior Taylor Giglio and freshman Jourdan Roemer also added a goal.

The Griffs would score the first six goals of the second half, to take a commanding lead, with the Purple Eagles adding their only other goal of the half with 6:40 remaining. The Griffs 11-0 run, which ran through both halves, included three more goals from Evans, two from sophomore Lauren Smolensky, and one from freshman Brenna Shanahan.

Sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca VanLaeken once again had a strong performance in net for Canisius, allowing only two goals with a save percentage of .442. VanLaeken is now 11-4 on the year, ranking first in save percentage and goals against average in MAAC play, while currently having the second lowest goals against average in school history (7.92).

The Golden Griffins led in nearly all statistical categories, recording 23 shots on goal, to Niagara's seven, while recording ten more ground balls than their MAAC rival.

Next up for the Griffs is their postponed game against Syracuse, which will conclude this upcoming Tuesday, May 3, at 4:30 p.m. The game is currently tied at 10-10 with 6:05 remaining.

The team will then host the 2016 MAAC Championship, as the No. 1 seed, with their semifinal game beginning at 8 p.m. on May 6th from the Demske Sports Complex.

Game Notes: The Griffs completed a perfect 8-0 season in the MAAC for a second straight year, while also going undefeated in 2013 (6-0)… The Blue and Gold have won 12 consecutive matchups against Niagara, moving their lifetime record to 15-7 over their Battle of the Bridge rival…With the win the Griffs move to 5-4 on the road this year…Evans eclipsed the 70 point mark in the win (73), becoming only the seventh Griff to reach the mark… Evans 59 goals tie her with Morgan Leonard for most in a season, Leonard posted the record total in 2013… Evans also passed Leonard's mark of 71 points in a season, reaching 73, moving her to fifth all time… Evans has recorded at least six goals in her last four games, reaching the mark six times this year… VanLaeken currently holds the second lowest goals against average for a single-season at Canisius (7.92), behind Kayla Scully (7.81)... The Griffs have been strong defensively all season, now holding the best goals against average in school history... Chad reached the 30 goal mark, recording 11 multi-goal games as a rookie this year… Smolensky recorded her 30^th point of the season, scoring twice and adding an assist, recording the second most points for the Griffs…Evans led the team in goals, points and draw controls on the day… Shanahan led in ground balls with a career-high six and caused turnovers, with four, also a career high.