Lindy Feider

Box Score

Siena SIEM 2-6, 0-1 MAAC

Canisius CAN 2-6, 1-0 MAAC

Siena SIEM

2-6, 0-1 MAAC

Final

Mar. 20, 2022

Canisius CAN

2-6, 1-0 MAAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Siena SIEM	1	2	3	2	8
Canisius CAN	3	1	3	2	9

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | 3/20/2022 3:33:00 PM

Men’s Lacrosse Edges Siena to Start MAAC Play

Next Game:

at Vermont

3/26/2022 | noon

Next Game

Full Schedule

Mar. 26 (Sat) / noon

at Vermont

Recap
Roster

Sophomore attackman Keegan Kozack tallied four points and freshman faceoff specialist Johnny Richiusa won 17-of-20 draws to pace Canisius in a 9-8 victory over Siena in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action Sunday at the Demske Sports Complex.

Kozack tallied three goals and added an assist to highlight a Golden Griffins attack (2-6, 1-0 MAAC) that featured seven different goal scorers. Juniors Nathan Conry and Jackson Naylor chipped in a goal and an assist each.

Richiusa was nearly unbeatable at the faceoff X, winning all but three of the 20 draws taken. He also pitched in a game-high 13 ground balls and added an assist.

Christian Watts scored four goals to lead Siena (2-6, 0-1 MAAC). Pratt Reynolds tallied two goals while Siena goalie Chris Yanchoris finished with 12 saves.

Sophomore Ryan Furlong staked Canisius to a 1-0 lead with a transition tally midway through the first quarter before Watts netted Siena's first of the game a little more than five minutes later to knot the score at 1-1.

Kozack and the Griffs had an immediate response as Richiusa won the ensuing faceoff cleanly and fed Kozack for his first of the contest, restoring the Canisius lead and sparking a three-goal spurt for the Griffs that gave them a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter.

Siena closed out the first half scoring with Watts' second of the contest and Luke Julien's fifth of the campaign to make it a 4-3 game at the break.

Naylor restored Canisius' two-goal cushion just 31 seconds into the second half, only to see Siena answer with three straight goals, punctuated by Jack Kiernan's sixth of the season, to take its first lead of the game, 6-5.

Canisius once again had a quick response, this time benefitting from a transition goal from senior John McCain just 21 seconds later to tie the game. Kozack completed his hat trick with a little more than six minutes to play in the frame to put the Griffs back in front, 7-6, heading into the fourth quarter.

Siena pulled even for the second time in the contest thanks to Reynolds' second of the afternoon that knotted the score at 7-7 early in the fourth quarter.

The Griffs retook the lead behind a pair of unassisted tallies from Conry and sophomore Hunter Parucki that spanned more than 10 minutes of action to build a two-goal cushion, 9-7, with just over two minutes remaining.

Watts pulled the Saints within one in the final minute of regulation, but that would be as close as Siena would get, as the Griffs held on to secure the one-goal win.

Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"I'm proud of the men in the locker room. We knew that in conference play, you're going to have 60-minute games. They're going to be one or two-goal contests. Credit to our guys for focusing in and just playing the full 60 minutes and not letting up. It's just great to be 1-0 in conference play and back in the win column.

"You learn more having to play in these tight games throughout the balance of the season and it's going to hopefully pay dividends, whether it's the next conference game or deeper into the season. When those tight moments are there, you're feeling a little bit of that pressure. We only get six cracks at it in conference play, so every game is very important. Every year, it comes down to the last weekend as to who gets into the conference tournament. I don't think this year is going to be any different based upon yesterday and today's scores. So, we want to use and build off of today's win for sure.

"Johnny (Richiusa) had a great day. We thought it was going be a battle throughout and he was on a roll today and was able to get some good clean exits. But, he was also able to work and muck for some tough ground balls and did a great job overall of protecting his stick and moving the ball to the attackman or the midfielders once his hands were clear. A credit to him today. Really proud of the effort he had.

Game Notes
• Sunday's game served as the 36th meeting between Canisius and Siena. The Griffs won for the sixth time in the last eight meetings between the two in-state rivals, six of which have been decided by two goals of less.
• Canisius out-shot Siena, 40-34, for the contest, highlighted by a 14-9 advantage in the first quarter.
• Canisius played its fourth game of the season that was decided by two goals or less. It improved to 2-2 in those games this season with Sunday's victory.
• Kozack posted his third hat trick of the season and the sixth of his career with his three-goal effort on Sunday.
• Richiusa recorded double-digit face offs wins for the third time this season with his 17 faceoffs wins. That total matched his season high in that category, set against Bellarmine on Feb. 19.
• Richiusa's 13 ground balls were a season high, surpassing his total against Bellarmine (10).
• The Griffs 17-of-20 performance at the faceoff X represented the fewest faceoffs lost in a game since a 12-of-16 effort at Manhattan on April 19, 2019.
• Freshman Jaxon Fridge scored his first career goal with a second-quarter tally.
• Graduate keeper Matt Vavonese recorded double-digit saves for the sixth time this season and the 11th time in his career with a 10-save performance on Sunday.

Up Next
Canisius closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule March 26 with a visit to America East foe Vermont. Opening faceoff between the Griffs and Catamounts is slated for noon at Virtue Field in Burlington, Vt.

For all the latest updates on Canisius men's lacrosse, be sure to follow @GriffsMLax on Twitter and Instagram.

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