Senior Emma Oliphant scored in the 86th minute to propel Canisius to a 1-0 victory over Manhattan in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's soccer action Saturday at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Golden Griffins improved to 4-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in conference play as they picked up their third straight win. The Jaspers, meanwhile, dropped to 4-3-0 on the season and 0-1-0 in MAAC action.
The Griffs tried to strike early with a shot from Skylar Cornell, just 51 seconds into the contest, but Manhattan keeper Margaret Brunk was able to corral the ball.
After the shot from Cornell, the teams engaged in a defensive battle that saw a total one shot on goal the rest of the half, which came off of the foot of senior Alicia Zamora in the 42nd minute.
Cornell registered another opportunity to break the deadlock just four minutes into the second half, but sent the ball just over the top of the net.
Senior defender Sophia Konstantinou made a heads up play to stop a fast break from the Jaspers with 14 minutes to go, keeping the game tied at zero.
Griffs goaltender Jordan Spencer would have to wait until the 78th minute to face her first shot of the contest, which came off the foot of Sami Derrico.
Sophomore Nicki Silverman subbed in for the first time in the 82nd minute and made an immediate impact, rifling a shot off the crossbar just over a minute later.
Oliphant finally broke the scoreless deadlock at the 85:46 mark, burying a Jessica Whitaker rebound to give the Griffs the lead with less than five minutes remaining.
That was all the support that Spencer and the Canisius defense would need, limiting the Jaspers to just one shot attempt over the remaining 4:14 of regulation to secure the one-goal victory.
GAME NOTES
• Saturday's game marked the 33rd contest between the Golden Griffins and Jaspers. Canisius extended their lead in the all-time series to 26-13-4 with Saturday's victory
• Oliphant has now scored back-to-back goals for the first time since last September.
• The game-winning goal by Oliphant was her first of the season and the fourth of her career
• The Griffs out-shot the Jaspers, 11-6, while also having a 5-2 lead in shots on goal. Oliphant led the Golden Griffins with three shot attempts and two tries on net
• Spencer recorded her 12th career shutout on Saturday and now is in sole possession of third all-time in program history
• Whitaker recorded her first point since the season opener against Binghamton with the assist on Oliphant's game-winning marker
UP NEXT
Canisius is back in action Wednesday for its final non-conference game of the season against Le Moyne. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex.
