BUFFALO – Canisius used a balanced offense attack and a solid defensive effort to defeat Quinnipiac, 10-6, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action Friday at the Demske Sports Complex.

Senior Lewis Vaccaro and junior Connor Kearnan tallied two goals each for the Griffs (6-8, 4-2 MAAC) while six players – senior Jeff Edwards, juniors Steven Coss and Eric Gold, sophomores Mario Caito and Logan Monroe and freshman Carter Stefaniak – all chipped in one goal each.

Junior Liam Ganzhorn made eight saves in goal for Canisius.

Foster Cuomo finished with six points on three goals and three assists to pace the Bobcats (2-9, 1-5 MAAC). Tyler DeVito, Mike Fletcher and Tyler Mackay also scored for Quinnipiac. Bobcats goaltender Jack Brust posted a season-high 16 saves in his final collegiate contest.

The teams traded goals in a back-and-forth first quarter before the Griffs used goals from Monroe, Gold and Kearnan during the second frame to take a 6-3 lead into the halftime break.

It would remain a three-goal contest during the opening stages of the third until the Quinnipiac offense got things moving in the later part of the frame to set up a dramatic final frame. The Bobcats took advantage of goals from DeVito, Mackay and Fletcher over the final four minutes of the quarter to counter a tally from Caito and make it a 7-6 contest.

It would remain a one-goal game for a majority of the fourth before Vaccaro provided some breathing room, stretching the Canisius lead to 8-6 with a laser that found the upper right-hand corner of the net with 2:49 remaining.

Kearnan and Vaccaro tacked on insurance markers during the final 70 seconds of regulation to determine the four-goal margin of victory.

Head coach Randy Mearns Postgame Comments

“We wanted to focus on preparing for the conference tournament today. We needed to feel good about ourselves and have some success for all the hard work that we've been putting in as we head into postseason play and I feel that we did that today.

“Overall, I thought we played very well. We had a hard time scoring; their goaltender did a great job today, finishing with 16 saves. I thought our defense locked down; our transition game created some opportunities for us. That's how we want to play; it's fun to play that way.

“This was a great win for our senior class. They willed us to victory today. Our seniors wanted to get this game, and our guys rose to the challenge to make sure their final game here on the Demske was a victory.”  

Game Notes
- Canisius' victory on Friday snapped a three-game losing skid to Quinnipiac. The Bobcats lead the all-time series by a 7-3 margin.
- The Griffs out-shot the Bobcats by a 37-27 margin. Canisius held a 24-14 advantage in shots taken during the first quarter.
- Quinnipiac won 14-of-20 faceoffs contested during the contest. The Bobcats were a perfect 10-for-10 at the faceoff X during the second half.
- Senior Jeff Edwards moved within one point of matching former Canisius standout Nick LoCoco (2008-11) for 13th place on the program's all-time scoring list (121) with his goal on Friday.
- With his two points on Friday, junior Connor Kearnan moved into sole possession of ninth place on the program's single-season points list (55).
- Senior Lewis Vaccaro and junior Cody Filson led the Griffs with five ground balls apiece.

Up Next
- Canisius opens the 2017 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Friday, May 5 with a semifinal round contest.
- The Griffs can be either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed for the four-team event to be held at Marist's Tenney Stadium in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
- Canisius' seed and opponent will be determined at the conclusion of the MAAC regular season schedule on Saturday.