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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius midfielder Nathan Conry carries the ball upfield in game action vs Manhattan 3-13-21
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13
Winner Canisius CAN 1-1
11
Bellarmine BELL 0-4
Winner
Canisius CAN
1-1
13
Final
11
Bellarmine BELL
0-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CAN 2 5 3 3 13
Bellarmine BELL 3 2 4 2 11

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Late Surge Sends Men’s Lacrosse Past Bellarmine

Canisius scored twice in a 1:47 span late in the fourth quarter to break an 11-11 tie and defeat Bellarmine, 13-11, in collegiate men's lacrosse action Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
 
Freshman Colin Kelly scored four goals and added an assist to pace the Golden Griffins (1-1) attack while senior Jacob Buck (2g, 2a) and junior Nathan Conry (1g, 3a) both finished with four-point afternoons. Graduate goalie Matt Vavonese made nine saves while freshman face-off specialist Johnny Richiusa was 17-of-28 at the face-off X and scooped up a game-high 10 ground balls.
 
Jesse Roth tallied three goals and added an assist while Justin Westcoat chipped in a hat trick for the Knights (1-3). JC Higginbotham made eight saves between the pipes for Bellarmine.
 
With the score knotted at 11-11 midway through the fourth quarter, freshman Patrick Mitchell notched a man-up goal, his second of the afternoon, with 6:42 remaining to give the Griffs the lead.
 
Kelly gave the Griffs some breathing room less than two minutes later, taking a feed from Buck and beating Higginbotham from distance to stretch the Canisius advantage to two, 13-11.  
 
That would be all the support that Vavonese and the Canisius defense would need, turning aside the Knights on their final two possessions to preserve the victory.
 
Earlier in the contest, Canisius trailed by a 5-3 margin early in the second quarter before rattling off four unanswered goals to close the frame and take a 7-5 lead into the break.
 
Bellarmine opened the second half on a 4-1 run to regain the lead, 9-8, only to see Canisius use tallies from Mitchell and sophomore Hunter Parucki to hold a 10-9 edge heading into the fourth.
 
In the final frame, a pair of Roth tallies for the Knights sandwiched around Kelly's third goal of the contest knotted the game at 11-all, setting the stage for Canisius' decisive spurt.
 
Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"I'm proud of the guys in our locker room for their resiliency today. With a long travel day down here yesterday, to be ready and focused to compete for 60 minutes is a credit to them. I'm really happy for the guys in the locker room to get a victory under their belt heading into a tough stretch that is going to see them play three times in an eight-day span.
 
"What we took from last week into this game was that we need to rely on our upperclassmen to continue to develop as leaders. This week in practice, our focus was on increasing the accountability and quality of our practices. The reps this week were much improved compared to last week and ultimately that effort paid off for us in getting the victory this afternoon.
 
"Playing in a tight game like that forces you to have to maintain your composure. It might not have looked like it at times today, but having to play in tight moments where the game is on the line teaches you a lot about your team. Hopefully today's win can help us as we go throughout the season and we continue to mature and grow as a team."
 
Game Notes
• Saturday's game served as the first meeting between Canisius and Bellarmine. The contest is also the first of four games for the Griffs this season against members of the newly-formed Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Bellarmine out-shot Canisius, 36-34, for the contest. Both teams attempted seven shots during the fourth quarter.
• Canisius was 1-of-4 in man-up situations while Bellarmine was 0-for-4.
• Canisius improved to 16-11 under fifth-year head coach Mark Miyashita in games decided by three goals or less with Saturday's victory.
• The Griffs won 17-of-28 face offs during the game, highlighted by a 5-1 edge in the fourth quarter.
• With the assist on Kelly's fourth goal, Buck recorded his 100th collegiate point, becoming the 23rd player in program history to hit the century mark and the first since Mathieu Bossionneault accomplished the feat during the 2019-20 season.
• Kelly has recorded three or more goals in both games this season, becoming the first Canisius freshman to record a hat-trick in his first two collegiate games since Adam Jones in 2008.
• Mitchell tallied his first two collegiate goals in the win.
• Richiusa is the first Canisius freshman to record 15 or more wins at the face-off X since Daniel Balawejder recorded 15 at Cleveland State on March 4, 2017.
 
Up Next
Canisius continues its season-opening road swing Tuesday with a visit to Big Ten foe Michigan. Opening faceoff at the U-m Lacrosse Stadium is slated for 3 p.m.
 
For all the latest updates on Canisius men's lacrosse, be sure to follow @GriffsMLax on Twitter and Instagram.
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