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Box Score

Robert Morris RMU 13-4

Canisius CAN 8-9

Robert Morris RMU

13-4

Final

May. 09, 2018

Canisius CAN

8-9

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Robert Morris RMU	2	5	4	1	12
Canisius CAN	1	0	2	3	6

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | 5/9/2018 8:32:00 PM

Men’s Lacrosse Sees Season End With Loss to Robert Morris

Game Recap
Robert Morris graduate student Justin Mayfield scored three goals and redshirt junior Jimmy Perkins added two goals and two assists to lead the visiting Colonials to a 12-6 win over Canisius in the opening round game of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship Wednesday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex.

With the victory, Robert Morris (13-4) advances to meet top-seeded Maryland Sunday at noon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, while the Golden Griffins see their season end with an 8-9 record.

Canisius senior Steven Coss and sophomore Mathieu Boissonneault each scored twice in the losing effort for the Griffs, while senior Connor Kearnan posted three assists in his final game wearing Blue and Gold. The three assists for Kearnan, the 2018 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year and MAAC Championship MVP, gives him 52 for the season, which breaks the Canisius record for assists in a season, set in 1990 by Canisius Hall of Famer Randy Mearns. Senior Ryan McKee had a two-point day with a goal and an assist for Canisius, while fellow senior Keith Pravato added a goal in the game's second half.

Canisius got on the scoreboard first after Boissonneault took a feed from Kearnan and beat Robert Morris goalkeeper Chris Reynolds to make the score 1-0 in favor of the home team. From there, the Colonials scored the game's next seven goals, including a 5-0 run in the game's second frame, to post a 7-1 advantage at the intermission. In the second quarter, the Colonials, who entered the game ranked third in the nation in scoring defense and third in the country in caused turnovers, forced the Griffs to give the ball away seven times for a first-half total of 11.

Mayfield scored the first of his three goals on the day with 1:49 left in the opening stanza to put Robert Morris ahead 2-1, and his second marker with 3:52 left to play in the second quarter put the Colonials up 5-1. Both of Mayfield's first-half goals came off assists from Perkins, who began the day ranked 26th in the nation in assists per game with 1.75 helpers per outing.

Pravato's ninth goal of the season at the 10:35 mark of the third quarter got Canisius with five at 7-2, but Perkins pushed Robert Morris' lead back to six goals 1:35 later with an unassisted goal, his team-leading 27th on the year. Boissonneault's second goal of the day off an assist from McKee with 4:09 left in the third cut Robert Morris' cushion to 8-3, but the Colonials scored three times in the final 3:11 of the third quarter to take an 11-3 lead into the final 15 minutes of play.

Reynolds, who started in place of Robert Morris' All-NEC goalie Alex Hager, earned the win in net after he made six saves. Canisius senior Liam Ganzhorn made 11 stops in the cage in the loss for the Griffs. Robert Morris outshot Canisius 37-26 for the contest and held a 27-26 advantage in ground balls.

Canisius, which earned the MAAC's automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship by winning the conference's tournament last Saturday, fell to 0-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Wednesday's game marked the program's first NCAA appearance since 2012, and the home game for the Blue and Gold stands as the first NCAA postseason championship contest hosted by the school on its Main Street campus.

Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"Congatulations to Robert Morris. They're a great team and great reprsenatives of the Northeast Conference. We had a chance to play them twice this year and we came up short both times, but they're a great team and we wish them well.

"Today, we didn't play the game that we wanted to. But, nothing can take away the pride that I have for the senior class and what they've done for us this year in leading us to a MAAC Championship. I'm proud of this group and the legacy this senior class leaves behind.

Game Notes
• Canisius saw its record against Robert Morris dip to 5-7 with Wednesday's setback. The Colonials have won each of the last seven meetings between the two programs.
• Canisius moved to 0-3 this season against nationally-ranked competition. Two of those three contests came against Robert Morris.
• The Griffs committed a season high 20 turnovers on Wednesday, including 11 in the first half.
• Senior Connor Kearnan completed his career in fifth place on the program's career points chart (180) and second on the school's list for assists in a career (91).
• Kearnan finished the 2018 season as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's record holder for points in a campaign with 83. That total is also good for second place on the program's single-season points chart.
• Senior Ryan McKee became the 21st player in program history to reach the 100-point plateau for his career with his two points on Wednesday.
• Sophomore Mathieu Boissonneault tallied multiple goals in a contest for the 13th time this season with his two tallies on Wednesday. His 39 goals this season were the eighth-most in a season by a Canisius player in school history.
• Senior Liam Ganzhorn posted double-digit saves for the ninth time this season as he finished with 11 saves.

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