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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius' Nathan Conry cradles the ball as Monmouth's Anthony Sarrdo guards him during game action at the Demske Sports Complex on April 23, 2021
Lindy Feider
7
Monmouth MONMOUTH 5-2, 4-2 MAAC
8
Winner Canisius CAN 4-4, 3-3 MAAC
Monmouth MONMOUTH
5-2, 4-2 MAAC
7
Final
8
Canisius CAN
4-4, 3-3 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Monmouth MONMOUTH 3 1 1 2 7
Canisius CAN 1 3 1 3 8

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Rallies Late to Defeat Monmouth

Canisius scored twice in a 46-second span late in the fourth quarter to erase a one-goal deficit and defeat Monmouth, 8-7, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action Friday at the Demske Sports Complex in downtown Buffalo.
 
Freshman Keegan Kozack tallied two goals and an assist while junior Jacob Buck scored once and pitched in two helpers to lead the Golden Griffins (4-4, 3-3 MAAC) attack. Five players – Graduate Dan Kritkausky, junior Mike Penna, sophomores Nathan Conry and Ethan Coughlin and freshman Ryan Furlong – accounted for the other five Canisius goals.
 
Senior keeper Matt Vavonese anchored a Griffs defense that matched its season low for goals allowed as he recorded a season-high 13 saves while also contributing two caused turnovers and five ground balls.
 
Connor Macrae, Brock Anderson and Mike Mcintyre pitched in two goals apiece for the Hawks (5-2, 4-2 MAAC). Max Brooks accounted for the other Monmouth goal while Noah Lode made 11 stops between the pipes for the visitors.
 
Trailing 7-6 with less than five minutes remaining, Kozack brought the Griffs level at the 4:10 mark of the fourth quarter, collecting a feed from freshman Hunter Parucki and beating Lode with a bounce shot to the right side.
 
Canisius won the ensuing faceoff and took the lead moments later when Coughlin wired a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the net on a feed from Kozack, giving the Griffs an 8-7 edge.
 
That would be all the support the Canisius defense would need, as Vavonese turned aside Anthony Sardo's attempt with a little more than two minutes remaining to secure the one-goal victory.   
 
Earlier in the contest, Canisius trailed 3-0 late in the first quarter before Buck got the Griffs on the board with a man-up marker in the final minute of the opening frame to make it a 3-1 contest.
 
Kozack opened the second-quarter scoring with a man-up tally of his own to trim the deficit to 3-2, only to see Anderson restore the Hawks two-goal cushion on an unassisted effort with just over five minutes to play in the half.
 
Canisius would draw even before halftime, as Conry found the back of the net less than a minute after Anderson's goal while Penna deposited a backdoor feed from freshman Jackson Webster into the Monmouth cage with 2:57 to play to make it a 4-4 game at the break.
 
The teams traded goals in the third, as Anderson reestablished Monmouth's lead a little more than three minutes into the second half before Kritkausky answered for the Griffs later in the frame to make it a 5-5 game heading into the fourth.  
 
Monmouth stepped back in front less than 90 seconds into the fourth on McIntyre's second of the afternoon, but Canisius once again tied the game as Furlong notched his first collegiate goal during a transition opportunity to make it a 6-6 game. Brooks would put the Hawks back in front with an unassisted effort at the 5:33 mark of the fourth, setting the stage for the Griffs late-game heroics.
 
Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"It wasn't always pretty today. We came out very flat in the first quarter, but we were able to regroup, settle in and come in at the half tied, which was huge. Then it was just a back-and-forth third and fourth quarter. We're fortunate to come out with the victory in a very tough game against a well-coached Monmouth team. We know they're going to be prepared. They play hard. The great thing is that we were able to match their intensity after that slow start and come away with a win. We're really happy for our senior class here today to know that their last home game that they know for sure that they're going to have here on the Demske, they get to walk away with a victory.
 
"It comes down to playing a complete game. Last week against Quinnipiac, we came out of the gates hot and playing really well and then we had our lapse in the second quarter there. Today, we didn't start so well, but we were able to overcome that. So, it's a work in progress to get to where we're playing a complete 60 minutes. We haven't done that yet this year and it's something that we stress in practice every day about coming prepared for practice and being able to give us the time that we're on the field to be dialed in, and it's no different on game day. So, if we can start to do that during the week when we're preparing, it should happen kind of naturally on game day. But, at the end of the day, we're very excited to come away with a victory here."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's game served as the seventh meeting between Canisius and Monmouth. The Griffs picked up their second straight win against the Hawks to move to 3-4 all-time in the series.
• Monmouth out-shot Canisius, 41-33, in the game, highlighted by a 25-16 edge during the second and third quarters.
• Monmouth won 12-of-18 faceoffs taken during the contest, winning 6-of-7 draws contested during the second and third quarters.
• Canisius was 2-for-5 in extra-man opportunities while Monmouth was 0-for-3.
• Canisius played its 13th game under fourth-year head coach Mark Miyashita to be decided by a single goal. The Griffs are 7-6 in those games.
• Kozack scored his fifth man-up goal of the season on Friday, tying him with Kritkausky for the team lead in that category. Kozack also tallied multiple goals in a game for the fourth consecutive contest with his two-goal effort.
• Coughlin's game-winning goal was the first of his career. He is the third different Canisius player to record a game-winning goal this season (Buck & Kozack).
• Vavonese recorded double-digit saves in a game for the third time this season with his 13-save effort on Friday.
 
Up Next
• Canisius will open the 2021 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship with a quarterfinal-round contest on April 30.
• The opponent, location and time of the contest will be determined upon the completion of the regular season Saturday.
 
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