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Canisius University Athletics

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Women's lacrosse team huddles on the field against Louisville on Feb. 25, 2026.
13
Canisius CANISIUS 4-2
20
Winner Louisville LOU 3-3
Canisius CANISIUS
4-2
13
Final
20
Louisville LOU
3-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CANISIUS 1 4 2 6 13
Louisville LOU 5 7 5 3 20

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse |

Louisville Hands Women's Lacrosse It's First Loss

Charlotte Jackson scored three goals and dished out four assists to lead Louisville to a 20-13 win over Canisius in collegiate women's lacrosse action Wednesday afternoon at U of L Lacrosse Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

The Cardinals improved to 2-3 overall with the win. Canisius fell to 4-1 overall as it saw its season-opening winning streak come to an end. 

Louisville's Erin Nicholson scored a team-best four goals while teammates Ella Berg and Reese Whiteman both finished with hat tricks to pace a balanced Cardinals attack. Goaltender Haley Richards made eight saves on 19 shots in net.

Freshman Ella Forcucci tallied a game-high five goals, becoming the first Golden Griffin to score three-or-more goals in five straight games to open her collegiate career. Fellow freshman Brooklyn Sverdrup won a team-best four draws for the Blue and Gold. Junior netminder Olivia Licardi made 14 saves for Canisius.

The Cardinals never trailed in the contest, scoring four goals initial seven minutes of the contest to grab an early lead. Forcucci got the Canisius on the board midway through the opening frame, weaving through a pair of Louisville defenders and sneaking the ball through the legs of Richards to trim the deficit to three.

Louisville held a 6-1 lead early in the second quarter before junior Ashlyn Dhandwar and senior Meg Hiltz scored two of the game's next three goals to narrow the Louisville lead to 7-3. The Cardinals closed the first half on a strong note, finishing the frame on a 5-2 run that gave the home team a 12-5 cushion heading into the halftime break.

After Jackson opened up the scoring in the second half, junior Megan Previdi and Hiltz teamed up with consecutive tallies to draw the deficit down to six with 9:01 remaining in the third quarter.

Louisville used four straight goals to end the third quarter and grow its largest lead of the afternoon, holding a 17-7 advantage heading into the final quarter of play.

Out-scoring Louisville by a 6-3 margin in the final frame, Canisius used a 4-1 spurt to stick around with its ACC foe. The comeback was not in store, however, as Canisius and Louisville traded goals over the final five and a half minutes of play to allow the Cards to secure the seven-goal victory. 

GAME NOTES
• Wednesday's game was the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs.
• Canisius' 13 goals ties the school record against ACC schools.
• Forcucci completed her hat trick in the first half.
• Canisius has scored 10-or-more goals in every game this season and have tallied double digit point totals in eight straight contests dating back to last season.
• Freshman Maddie Thore and Hiltz each scooped up a team-high three ground balls.
• Five of Canisius' goals came off free position shots.
• The Griffs forced the Cardinals to turn over the ball nine times throughout the afternoon with junior Maddie Fitzgerald credited with two caused turnovers.

UP NEXT
Canisius finishes its three-game road trip with a non-conference contest Friday at Austin Peay. Game time between the Griffs and Governors is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Morgan Bros. Field in Clarksville, Tenn. and the contest will stream on ESPN+.

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