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Mario Caito action vs UDM 4-13-19
Detroit Mercy Athletics
11
Winner Canisius CAN 8-5, 4-1 MAAC
8
Detroit Mercy DETMERCY 7-4, 4-2 MAAC
Winner
Canisius CAN
8-5, 4-1 MAAC
11
Final
8
Detroit Mercy DETMERCY
7-4, 4-2 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CAN 3 3 1 4 11
Detroit Mercy DETMERCY 3 3 2 0 8

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Battles Back to Defeat Detroit Mercy

Canisius scored the final five goals of the game to erase a two-goal deficit and defeat Detroit Mercy, 11-8, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday at Titan Field in Detroit, Mich.
 
Senior Mario Caito recorded a hat trick while fellow senior Layne Collins tallied one goal and dished out a season-high four assists to lead the Golden Griffins (8-5, 4-1 MAAC), who extended their winning streak to three games and moved into a tie with Marist for first place in the league standings with the victory.
 
Junior Carter Stefaniak recorded two goals, both of which came during Canisius' late-game surge, while five players – senior Logan Monroe, juniors Daniel Balawejder and Holden Garlent and freshmen Jacob Buck and Jake Lemon – all pitched in one goal apiece.
 
Senior goalie Brad Nordstrom recorded 10 saves between the pipes for the Griffs, including the final six shots the Titans (7-4, 4-2 MAAC) put on goal as he and the Canisius defense held Detroit Mercy off the scoreboard over the final 20:08 of regulation.
 
Mathew Vangalen scored two goals and dished out four assists to lead the Titans. Cam Kostus and Seth Mendell chipped in two goals each.
 
Trailing by an 8-6 margin after Kostus and Mendell opened the second-half scoring for the Titans, Monroe began the Griffs comeback with 1:21 to play in the third when he converted on a man-up opportunity for his first of the campaign.
 
Stefaniak brought Canisius level at the 9:10 mark of the fourth before Lemon netted the eventual game-winning goal just 63 seconds later and Stefaniak added his second of the stanza to make it a 10-8 Griffs lead with with less than six minutes remaining.
 
Collins closed out the scoring with 1:13 remaining, depositing a feed from sophomore Ryan Cicci to determine the three-goal margin of victory.
 
Earlier in the contest, Balawejder and Garlent staked Canisius to an early 2-0 lead before tallies from Erskine and Van Galen less than a minute apart brought Detroit Mercy level midway through the opening frame.  
 
Caito restored the Griffs' one-goal edge a little more than a minute after Van Galen's equalizer, but Mendell had the answer for the Titans in the final minute of the frame to send the teams to the second quarter tied at 3-3.
 
After Buck opened the second-quarter scoring to restore the Canisius lead, Detroit Mercy responded with a three-goal surge, capped by a pair of tallies from Vangalen and Kostus just 39 seconds apart, to give the Titans their first lead of the contest, 6-4, with 4:02 to play before the break.
 
Caito had the answer for Canisius, halting the UDM run just 58 seconds after Kostus' man-up maker and completing his hat trick with 1:51 remaining in the first half to send the teams to the locker room knotted at 6-6, setting the stage for the second half.  
 
Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"This was a great character win for the boys today. To be able to come-from-behind late in the game, especially in conference play, is huge. The guys bore down and gutted it out against a tough Detroit Mercy squad.
 
"Having the offense down by our bench in the fourth quarter was huge for us. With the wind today, it was really hard to communicate out there. I don't know if we were able to get in sync at all today when we were on the far end of the field. Having the offensive guys at our end of the field allowed us to talk them through some things we were seeing matchup-wise and gave us a chance to get into a rhythm offensively in the fourth.
 
"The big thing is that we stay hungry over the fact that nothing is determined yet. We've still got to clinch our spot in the MAAC Championship. We do control our own destiny, but at the end of the day, we've still got work to do. Nothing's settled. We've got a lot to play for still, so that's the big carrot dangling at the end of the stick for us right now."

Game Notes
• Saturday's contest served as the 12th meeting between Canisius and Detroit Mercy. The Griffs picked up their second straight win against the Titans to even the all-time series at 6-6.
• Canisius out-shot Detroit Mercy by a 34-31 margin on Saturday, highlighted by a 12-8 margin in the third quarter.
• The Griffs won 12-of-23 faceoffs contested in the contest as Balawejder recorded double-digit faceoff wins for the 10th time this season.
• Canisius held an opponent to single-digit goals for the third straight game and seventh time this season, all of which have come in the last eight contests. The Griffs are 6-1 this season when holding their opponent to nine goals or fewer.  
• Caito recorded his seventh hat trick of the season with his three-goal performance on Saturday.
• Collins established a season high with his four assists. The total also matches the most assists in a game by a Canisius player this season, equaling Buck's total against Colgate on March 16.
• Balawejder and Monroe both scored their first goals of the season during Saturday's contest. Balawejder's goal was also the first of his collegiate career.
• Nordstrom finished with double-digit saves for the ninth time this season as he recorded 10 saves.
 
Up Next
• Canisius plays its final road contest of the regular season on April 19 when it travels to league foe Manhattan.
• Opening faceoff between the Griffs and Jaspers is set for 4:30 p.m. at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y.   
 
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