The Canisus College women's lacrosse team advanced to the MAAC Championship Game for the sixth straight season this evening, defeating Fairfield 10-7 from the Demske Sports Complex, while moving to 12-6 on the year.
The No. 1 seed in the MAAC tournament, the Golden Griffins avenged their MAAC Championship loss to Fairfield a year ago, and will now face the No. 3 seed Monmouth Hawks for the conference crown.
The Griffs were led offensively by sophomore Erica Evans, who recorded four goals including the 100th of her career, on her second of the contest. Evans is the first Griff in program history to reach the 100 goal mark as a sophomore, while also owning the school record for goals in a season with 64.
The game began with a goal from Evans on a free position shot less than a minute into the game, before the Stags would answer with a goal of their own at 24:27. The teams would trade a goal apiece over the next ten minutes of play, including a goal from senior Taylor Giglio.
Canisius would take control of the game thereafter, going on a 3-0 run to close out the first half on two goals from Evans, one from freshman Tessa Chad, for a 5-2 halftime lead.
Scoring the first three out of four goals in the second half, the Griffs took a 8-3 lead with 20:07 remaining, including two impressive goals from sophomore Lauren Smolensky. The attacker now has 38 points for the season, while having the second most points on the night for Canisius (4).
The Griffs would add two more goals, one from Giglio and another from sophomore Allie Stewart, giving the Griffs a comfortable 10-4 lead with 3:09 remaining.
Fairfield would not let their season end quietly however, as they responded with three unanswered goals in the final three minutes. The effort was not enough as the Blue and Gold were able to re-maintain possession and close out the Stags season with a 10-7 victory.
Sophomore goaltender Rebecca VanLaeken moved to 12-5 on the season, while keeping hold of her MAAC-best goals against average at 8.18 (the second lowest in school history).
With the victory, Canisius moves to 9-0 in MAAC play this season, 12-6 overall, and will host the 2016 MAAC Championship Game from the Demske Sports Complex this Sunday, May 8, at Noon, as the team looks to claim their fifth championship in six seasons.
Game Notes: Evans totaled five points for the Blue and Gold, moving into second place for most points in a season with Tori Quinn at 79…The Griffs goals against average remains the lowest in school history at 8.26… The Griffs are now 10-14 all-time against the Stags... With the win the team also moved to 11-5 in MAAC tournament history… The Griffs will play in the MAAC Championship game for the first ever time against Monmouth… The Griffs have won 10 of their past 11 games, with the only loss coming to the No. 4 team in the country, Syracuse… Evans led the team in caused turnovers (3) and ground balls (4)… Sophomore Megan Maloney recorded the most draw controls for Canisius with five.
