Lindy Feider

Box Score

Marist MARM 3-1

Canisius CAN 5-4

Marist MARM

3-1

Final

Apr. 30, 2021

Canisius CAN

5-4

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Marist MARM	2	4	3	4	13
Canisius CAN	7	3	3	1	14

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | 4/30/2021 7:34:00 PM

Men's Lacrosse Advances with One-Goal Victory over Marist

Next Game:

at Manhattan

5/5/2021 | 7 P.M.

Next Game

Full Schedule

May. 05 (Wed) / 7 P.M.

at Manhattan

Recap
Roster

Fourth-seeded Canisius raced out to an early lead and held off a late charge to defeat fifth-seeded Marist, 14-13, in first-round action in the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship Friday at the Demske Sports Complex in downtown Buffalo.

Graduate Dan Kritkausky and freshman Keegan Kozack both recorded hat tricks for the Golden Griffins (5-4), who advanced to face top-seed Manhattan in the tournament semifinals on May 5. Junior Jacob Buck matched a career high with four assists while sophomore Nathan Conry tallied two goals and junior Mike Penna pitched in one goal and two assists.

Sophomore Connor Beals recorded a career-high 20 wins and added 10 ground balls at the faceoff X while senior keeper Matt Vavonese posted a season-high 14 saves between the pipes for the Griffs.

Brothers Jamison and Hunter Embury notched four goals apiece for the visiting Red Foxes (3-1). Jamison added three assists to finish with a game-high seven points while Jojo Pirreca and Joe Tierney chipped in two goals each.

Tied at 1-1 early in the first quarter, sophomore Timothy Lischer notched his first collegiate goal in transition to give the lead back to the Griffs and ignite a five-goal spurt that lasted just under four minutes and put Canisius in front, 6-1.

Hunter Embury temporarily halted the spurt with his first goal of the contest at the 5:45 mark of the first, but Canisius answered back with three of the next four goals to build a 9-3 cushion less than five minutes into the second quarter.

Marist started to come to life before the end of the half, notching three of the final four goals of the second quarter to trim the Griffs lead to 10-6 at the break.

Canisius pushed its lead back to six early in the third quarter as it used two goals from Kozack and a third from Penna to counter Jamison Embury's third of the game to start the second half and make it a 13-7 contest.

Marist would not go down without a fight, however, as goals from Pirreca and Hunter Embury to close the third sparked a four-goal spurt that made it a two-goal game, 13-11, with 11:15 to play in regulation.

Senior Ryan Cicci would stem the Red Foxes momentum with an individual effort just moments after Hunter Embury's fourth of the day to restore the Griffs three-goal cushion, only to see Jamison Embury and Jojo Pirreca counter for Marist to make it a one-goal game with just over three minutes to play.

Marist had a chance to tie the game on the final possession, but Vavonese was able to turn away Jason Intermesoli's game-tying attempt on the doorstep to preserve the one-goal victory and send the Griffs to the MAAC semifinals.

Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"I'm proud of every man in that locker room. That was a huge team victory today. We bent, didn't break late in the game when we made some mistakes and gave them opportunities to tie it up. But we were able to use this as a great learning experience. We've been in a number of close games throughout the year and we knew that no lead was safe against a veteran team like Marist who won the conference a couple years ago and has played very well coming off o their pause. So, hats off to Marist for battling the way they did and through all that they have endured during the season. But at the end of the day, I'm very proud of the effort of the men in the locker room.

"Our ball movement to start was great. We were very unselfish, we were looking to make that that extra pass and guys were cutting hard off ball, which was creating some great opportunities. Our communication on the field was probably the best in that first quarter that it has been all season. So that really helped us get our legs underneath us and obviously, in the long run, it really paid dividends as the game went on."

Game Notes
• Friday's game served as the third postseason meeting between Canisius and Marist in the last four MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championships. The Red Foxes had won the first two of those matchups prior to the Griffs' victory on Friday.
• Marist out-shot Canisius for the contest, 46-42, holding a combined 37-25 edge over the final three quarters after the Griffs held a 17-9 advantage during the first.
• Canisius was 3-for-5 in man-up opportunities while Marist was a perfect 2-for-2 in EMO situations.
• Canisius held a 36-27 edge in ground balls for the contest, highlighted by a 21-13 margin during the second and third quarters.
• Canisius played its third game this season to be decided by a single goal. The Griffs are now a perfect 3-0 in those contests.
• All four of the Griffs games in the MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship under fourth-year head coach Mark Miyashita have been decided by a single goal (3-1).
• Kritkausky posted his second hat trick of the season while Kozack recorded his third as both players finished with three goals on Friday.
• Buck matched his career high with his four assists on Friday. Buck has dished out multiple assists in four games this season.
• Beals became the first Canisius faceoff specialist to record 20 or more faceoff wins in a game since Mike Moran tallied 20 against UAlbany on March 9, 2013.
• Vavonese posted a career high in saves for the second straight contest with his 14-save effort on Friday. He has recorded double-digit saves in four of his five starts this season.
• Cicci recorded his first career game-winning goal with his tally in the fourth quarter on Friday.

Up Next
• Canisius advances to the tournament semifinals, where it will face top-seeded Manhattan on May 5.
• Start time is slated for 7 p.m. at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y.

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