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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius' Otto Bergmann prepares to face a shot during the Griffs' matchup with Hartford on Feb. 22, 2020
Steve McLaughlin photography
8
Winner Canisius CAN 1-0
7
Siena SIEM 0-1
Winner
Canisius CAN
1-0
8
Final
7
Siena SIEM
0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CAN 2 1 5 0 8
Siena SIEM 2 1 3 1 7

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Edges Siena to Begin 2021 Campaign

Junior Jacob Buck recorded a hat trick and sophomore Otto Bergmann made 12 saves to pace Canisius in an 8-7 victory over Siena in collegiate men's lacrosse action Saturday at Hickey Field in Loudonville, N.Y.
 
In the season opener for both programs, Buck scored two of his three goals in the second half while Bergmann made eight of his 12 stops after intermission to help the Griffs take the lead with a strong third quarter and hold on for the one-goal victory.
 
Graduate transfer Dan Kritkausky added two goals for Canisius while freshman Keegan Kozack added a goal and an assist. Sphomore Ethan Coughlin and junior Mark Allen accounted for the other two Griffs goals on Saturday.
 
Jack Kiernan recorded a hat trick and added a pair of helpers while four players pitched in single tallies for the host Saints. Chris Yanchoris made seven stops between the pipes for Siena.
 
Canisius jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Coughlin and Allen, but Siena responded with a pair of tallies from Nick Casner and Maurice Tessier to knot the game at 2-2 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Saints carried the momentum into the second as George Rusnack gave Siena its first lead of the contest, only to see Buck respond later in the frame to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Kiernan opened the second-half scoring less than two minutes into the third to put Siena back in front, 4-3, before Kritkausky struck for back-to-back goals and Kozack notched his first to spark a three-goal spurt over a five-minute span that gave the Griffs a 6-4 cushion midway through the third.
 
The teams traded goals the remainder of the quarter, with Kiernan and Brett Habich scoring for Siena, while Buck completed his hat trick to keep the Griffs in front by two, 8-6, heading into the fourth.
 
Kiernan finished off his hat trick with 8:58 remaining to pull the Saints within one, but that would be as close as the Saints would get, as Bergmann and the Canisius defense shut the door the rest of the way to preserve the lead and record the one-goal victory.
 
Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"It was a back-and-forth battle to say the least. We tried to give it away a little bit at the end, but we were able to pull out the victory, so we'll take it.  At the end of the day, we walked out of there with a W and it's been a long time since we've had that, so first and foremost, it's a good feeling. We knew it was going to be a sloppy game at times. I looked at stats. We had 27 turnovers today, which in the long run isn't sustainable, but for the first game in 363 days we know we can clean up a lot of that. We're very happy with the effort. The way that the guys stuck together, playing with poise in pressure moments down the stretch. We didn't have any sort of freak out or meltdown late in the game. That'll serve us well as we progress through the season.
 
"We had a good start to the third quarter, which was huge. We came out and kept the momentum of the game overall and took advantage of some opportunities as guys were able to capitalize. In the fourth quarter we had a few chances that we would like another crack at, but it was just a battle today and we expected that. Every game in the MAAC is a slugfest. Hats off to Siena for their effort. They're a well-coached team. We know we've got to play them again in a few weeks, so we'll take nothing for granted and be ready to clean some stuff up at practice on Monday.
 
"The defense played great; they did a great job of coming together. It's still a young unit out there with a lot of those guys on the back end getting their first victory as college lacrosse players. In fact, 62% of our roster had never won a college game prior to today. So, I'm just really happy for everybody in the program to get back to the win column and those guys did a great job today."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius increased its lead in the all-time series against Siena to 22-11 with Saturday's victory. • The game marked the fifth time in the last six matchups between the two league foes that the game has been decided by a single goal.
• The Griffs picked up their first victory in a season opener under Miyashita with Saturday's victory over the Saints (1-3).
• Saturday's contest was the first of two regular-season contests scheduled between the two programs. The teams are slated to square off again on April 10 in a MAAC matchup at Hickey Field.
• Siena held a slim 31-30 advantage in shots taken during the contest, highlighted by a 10-6 advantage in the fourth quarter. The Saints also posted a slim 33-31 edge in ground balls during the game as well.
• Buck posted the fifth hat trick of his career with his three-goal effort on Saturday.
• Coughlin and Kozack both recorded their first collegiate tallies during Saturday's contest.
• Junior defenseman Ryan Sharkey recorded a career-high four caused turnovers during Saturday's contest and was tied with freshman Jacob Pahnke for the team lead with six ground balls.
• Sophomore Connor Beals was 10-of-19 at the faceoff X in his Canisius debut, highlighted by a 2-of-3 effort during the second quarter.
• Bergmann made double-digit saves in a game for the sixth time in his career with his xx-save effort against the Saints.
 
Up Next
• Canisius opens the home portion of its 2021 schedule March 13 when it welcomes MAAC foe Manhattan to the Demske Sports Complex for a Noon contest.
 
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