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Canisius University Athletics

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Caroline Netti shoots a ball on net vs. Pittsburgh
Ken Morey
10
Pittsburgh PITT 3-2
12
Winner Canisius CAN 4-0
Pittsburgh PITT
3-2
10
Final
12
Canisius CAN
4-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Pittsburgh PITT 3 1 3 3 10
Canisius CAN 3 3 2 4 12

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse |

Women’s Lacrosse Powers Past Pitt in Home Opener

Game Recap
Sophomore Caroline Netti led Canisius with a career-high five goals, while senior Katie Smolensky and junior Paige Stachura added five points each as the Golden Griffins improved to 4-0 on the season with a 12-10 win over ACC foe Pittsburgh at the Demske Sports Complex Sunday afternoon.
 
Canisius played strong defensively against the Panthers (3-2), forcing nine caused turnovers and securing 19 ground balls. Senior goalie Shannon Maroney was solid in net for the Griffs with 10 saves in the victory.
 
Making their 2022 home debut, the Griffs opened up the scoring less than a minute into the contest with Stachura converting on a free-position shot. Pittsburgh notched the equalizer two minutes later to keep the Griffs at bay.   
 
Canisius answered back quickly as a caused turnover and ground ball by senior Megan Hoffman led to a scoring chance for Smolensky. Smolensky was awarded a free-position and made no mistake, bouncing the ball past the Panthers goalie.
 
Pittsburgh netted two goals before Netti found the back of the net off a feed from Smolensky to tie the game at three to end the first quarter.
 
Goals from Netti, Riley Davis, and Stachura in the second would give the Griffs a 6-4 lead at halftime.
 
The Griffs and Panthers traded goals in a back-and-forth third quarter that featured three lead changes and two ties. Netti registered her third and fourth goals of the contest to put Canisius up, 8-7, heading into the final frame of the game.
 
Canisius went on a 4-0 run to open the fourth as Hoffman, Smolensky, Netti and Stachura extended the Griffs' lead to five. Stachura capped the run with a highlight-reel effort, putting a no-look behind-the-back shot past Panthers goalie Paulina DiFatta off a quick pass from Alexandra Pound. Pitt would answer with three goals of its own, but it would not be enough to comeback.

Head Coach Russell Allen's Postgame Comments
"Super proud of the team. We played together and we had a really well thought out game plan and they executed everything we asked of them."

"We knew Pittsburgh is a team that's very athletic, so we decided to throw zone at them and show them a defense that they've never really seen a lot of this season."

Game Notes
• Canisius extended its best start to a season in program history with its fourth straight victory on Sunday. 
• Maroney's 10 saves marked the fourth time that the senior has registered 10 or more saves in a game during her career.
• Through the first four games of the season, five Griffs have recorded at least one point in all four games: Megan Hoffman, Katie Smolensky, Riley Davis, Paige Stachura and Caroline Netti.
• With Netti's five-goal performance, Canisius has had a different player score four or more goals in the first four games of the season.
• Davis lengthened her scoring streak to 14 games, dating back to March 6, 2021.

Up Next
Canisius is back home on Friday against Marquette. Opening draw at the Demske Sports Complex is slated for 4 p.m.
 
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