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Canisius University Athletics

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Paige Stachura_0219
Justin Berl/RMU Athletics
14
Winner Canisius CAN 3-0
8
Saint Francis SFU 0-2
Winner
Canisius CAN
3-0
14
Final
8
Saint Francis SFU
0-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CAN 7 2 3 2 14
Saint Francis SFU 2 1 4 1 8

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse |

Women’s Lacrosse Opens Season 3-0

Game Recap
The Canisius women's lacrosse team improved to 3-0 for the first time in program history with a 14-8 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) Wednesday afternoon at DeGol Field in Loretto, Pa. The Red Flash dropped to 0-2 on the year.
 
Canisius was led by junior Paige Stachura with four goals and senior Katie Smolensky with three. Five Golden Griffins found the back of the net in addition to Stachura and Smolensky. Seniors Skylar McArthur and Megan Hoffman each added a pair of tallies, while Caroline Netti, Riley Davis and Avery Penoyer each registered one goal each.
 
The Griffs wasted no time getting on the board as Smolensky tallied the first marker a minute into the game. Less than two minutes later, she notched another goal to give the Griffs an early 2-0 lead. Hoffman converted on a free-position shot at the eight-minute mark, causing the Red Flash to call a timeout.
 
A tally from Stachura and a trio of free-position goals, courtesy of McArthur, Penoyer and Smolensky, would give the Griffs a 7-2 advantage after one.
 
Canisius controlled the pace of play in the second quarter, holding a 4-0 edge in draw controls while also causing three turnovers. With 25 seconds remaining before the half, Stachura got on the board again with the Griffs' fifth free-position goal of the afternoon.
 
Riley Davis opened the scoring to begin the second half with her fourth of the season. A few minutes later, Hoffman extended the Canisius lead, 11-3, with her second marker of the day. The Red Flash answered back with two goals of their own before Netti would score for the third straight contest. Saint Francis (Pa.) notched two more goals in the final minutes to give Canisius a 12-7 advantage at the end of the third quarter.  
 
Paige Stachura capped off her career-high four-goal performance with a pair of tallies in the final frame to secure the victory for the visiting Blue and Gold.
 
Head Coach Russell Allen's Postgame Comments
"I'm happy to walk away with a win, but we need to play cleaner. We turned the ball over too much and didn't value possession.
 
"It is hard to defend a team that has multiple offensive threats. Every time we are on offense, I feel confident that anyone who touches the ball can put it in the back of the net.
 
"Pitt is an undefeated ACC team. We know they're good and I have a lot of respect for how strong their program is, but we are ready for the challenge. We're undefeated as well and we will attack the game with confidence and grit. Every game is an opportunity to get better and prepare us for conference play."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius moved to 4-0 all-time against Saint Francis (Pa.), outscoring the Red Flash, 60-15, in those contests.
• With Stachura's four-goal performance, the Griffs have had a different player score four or more goals in the first three games of the season, marking the first time this has happened since the 2012 campaign.
• Entering Wednesday's contest, Canisius had an adjusted draw control win rate at 59 percent, which is good for 20th in the nation. The Griffs added 13 draw controls this afternoon.
• The Golden Griffins recorded 13 caused turnovers, which was the most in a game since March 20, 2021 in a 16-15 overtime victory against Monmouth.
• Smolensky registered the 20th multi-point performance of her career in the victory.
• Seven Griffs have tallied at least a point in all three contests to start the 2022 campaign: Megan Hoffman, Katie Smolensky, Skylar McArthur, Riley Davis, Paige Stachura, Caroline Netti and Kaitlyn Salce. 


Up Next
Canisius opens up its 2022 home campaign when they play host to Pittsburgh Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex.  

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