By: Connor Pohlman
Despite an admirable comeback effort from the Canisius Golden Griffins (2–11) in their home finale, it wasn’t enough to pick up a win over the Marist Red Foxes (6–7) on Saturday at the Demske Sports Complex. Marist scored the first seven goals of the game, which would eventually end with the Griffs falling 13–7.
Marist’s Jojo Pirreca led the way for the Red Foxes, scoring two goals and shelling out three assists. Kellen Pulera and James Lyons recorded hat tricks, while Jason Intermesoli and Hunter Embury both finished with four points as each player registered two goals and two assists.
Marist used first-quarter goals from Joshua Balcarcel and Pulera to grab a 2–0 lead before opening the second quarter with five unanswered tallies, highlighted by a pair of man-up goals from Intermesoli and Pulera to build a 7–0 cushion with just over three minutes to play in the first half.
A man-up goal from Buck with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter put Canisius finally on the board and ignited a three-goal spurt from the Griffs that saw redshirt freshman Erik Allen and Brunsch also find the back of the net, making it a 7–3 game at the break.
Marist regained control of the game at the start of the third quarter, opening the second half with four straight goals to take its largest lead of the game, 11-3.
Canisius answered back, bookending the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters with three unanswered goals to pull within five.
That would be as close as the Griff would get, however, as Marist tallied two of the last three goals of the game to determine the six-goal final margin.
Graduate keeper Matt Vavonese recorded 18 saves between the pipes for the Golden Griffins. Senior Jacob Buck tallied two goals and two assists to pace the Canisius attack. Junior Kyle Brunsch and sophomore Keegan Kozack finished with two points each.
“Matt Vavonese with 18 saves was a rock back there,” head coach Mark Miyashita said. “Unfortunately, we had too many guys that weren't ready for the challenge at the offensive end. So, it hampered the overall team effort. But, in terms of the atmosphere, it was electric.”
Freshman faceoff specialist Johnny Richiusa was 12-of-21 at the faceoff X with a game-high 12 ground balls.
Men’s lacrosse will close out their regular season on Saturday, April 30 with a MAAC contest against St. Bonaventure. The Griffs and Bonnies are scheduled to start the opening faceoff at noon at the Marra Athletics Field Complex in Olean.
Comments