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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius huddles prior to their match with Niagara
Chris Rolfing
0
Canisius CAN (0-4-0, 0-3-0)
4
Winner Niagara NIA (2-1-0, 1-1-0)
Canisius CAN
(0-4-0, 0-3-0)
0
Final
4
Niagara NIA
(2-1-0, 1-1-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Canisius CAN 0 0 0
Niagara NIA 3 1 4

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Men’s Soccer Defeated by Rival Niagara

Niagara scored three goals in a 7:21 span midway through the first half to break open a scoreless contest and cruise to a 4-0 victory over "Battle of the Bridge" rival Canisius in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action Sunday at Niagara Field in Lewiston, N.Y.
 
Rodrigo Almeida tallied two goals and added an assist for the Purple Eagles (2-1-0, 1-1-0 MAAC). Gabriel Mikina and Luca Pacheco added individual markers while Josh Savoni picked up his first shutout of the season as he recorded two saves.
 
Junior goalkeeper Tom Crosbie finished with five saves in goal for the Golden Griffins (0-4-0, 0-3-0 MAAC).
 
Almeida opened the scoring in the 26th minute, heading home a loose ball after Gabriel Mikina's initial attempt from the top of the box was turned aside by Crosbie to give Niagara the lead.
 
Almeida doubled the Purple Eagles margin with his second goal of the afternoon at the 30:52 mark of the contest, flicking Stephen Hasse's corner kick into the lower right-hand corner of the net from the middle of the box to make it 2-0.
 
Mikina closed out the first-half scoring less than three minutes later, heading home his own rebound after a turnover deep in the Canisius end of the field led to a scoring chance for Mikina. Almeida recorded his fifth point of the contest as he was credited with an assist on the play.
 
Pacheco notched his first of the season in the 80th minute, tapping home a goalmouth feed from Brian Berry to make it a 4-0 contest. Luigi Morte was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
 
Head Coach Dermot McGrane's Postgame Comments
"We thoroughly deserved to lose today. We failed to perform to the standards that we expect from ourselves. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us this week to get back on the right track."
 
Game Notes
• Sunday's game served as the second leg of a home-and-home series between the two longtime rivals. The Purple Eagles won the opening game of the set, 2-1, at the Demske Sports Complex on Thursday.
• Sunday's setback was the first for the Golden Griffins at Niagara since a 2-0 setback to the Purple Eagles on Oct. 26, 2011.
• Niagara out-shot Canisius by a 23-6 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 13-1 margin in the first half.
• The Purple Eagles took five of the six corners awarded in the contest.
• Redshirt sophomore Ryan Birgeneau and freshman Inder Thind recorded the two shots on goal for the Griffs.
 
Up Next
• Canisius returns to action April 3 with a match at league foe Manhattan.
• Kickoff for the matchup between the Griffs and Jaspers is set for 5 p.m. at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y.
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