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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius defenseman Reed Conrey scoops up a loose ball during game action between Canisius and Bellarmine in Louisville, Kentucky, February 17, 2024. Photo by John Sommers II ©2024 John Sommers II Photography
John Sommers II/Sommers Photogra
8
Winner Canisius CAN 1-1
7
Bellarmine BELL 1-3
Winner
Canisius CAN
1-1
8
Final
7
Bellarmine BELL
1-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CAN 2 1 2 3 8
Bellarmine BELL 1 2 3 1 7

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Rallies to Defeat Bellarmine

Canisius scored three times in the fourth quarter to erase a one-goal deficit and defeat Bellarmine, 8-7, In collegiate men's lacrosse action Saturday at Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
 
Senior Jackson Webster tallied four points on two goals and two assists to pace the Golden Griffins (1-1) attack. Junior Patrick Mitchell notched two goals and an assist while junior Kayden Easter (2g) and freshman Mason Wolford (1g,1a) notched two points each.
 
Junior Tommy Kunz recorded 11 saves while sophomore Micah Hanson went 9-of-17 at the face-off "X" with a team-high four ground balls.
 
John Alie (1g, 2a) and Murphree Wilson (2g, 1a) notched three points each to pace the Knights (1-3). Benny O'Rourk and Kyle Playsted finished with two goals each while JC Higgenbotham made 14 goals between the pipes for the home team.  
 
Trailing 6-5 at the start of the fourth quarter, Canisius used goals from Mitchell, Easter and Webster across a 2:09 span to grab an 8-6 edge.
 
Wilson notched his second of the contest with 2:18 to play to pull Bellarmine within one. The Knights had a chance to net the equalizer as it gained possession on a Canisius turnover moments after Wilson's tally, but Kunz and the Canisius defense stood strong with Kunz making a pair of saves in the final minute to Bellarmine off the board and earn the one-goal victory.
 
Earlier in the contest, Canisius held a 2-1 lead after the first quarter thanks to goals from Mitchell and Webster before Bellarmine struck twice in a 61-second span late in the second to grab a 3-2 advantage. Easter was able to bring the Griffs level before the break, netting his first of the campaign with 34 seconds to play to send the teams to the locker room tied 3-3.
 
The third quarter saw the Knights record the first two goals of the frame to grab the first multiple-goal lead of the contest, 5-3, only to have Canisius answer back with tallies from Parucki and Wolford to knot the score at 5-5. A last-second goal from Playsted gave Bellarmine a 6-5 edge heading into the fourth, setting the stage for the Griffs fourth-quarter comeback.  
 
POSTGAME COMMENTS
"Today was a team effort. Our guys trusted one another and did a great job of executing our systems throughout the game and adjusting as it went along. So, I'm just proud of everybody in the locker room for a team win in a close game, which has been our Achilles Heel for a while. We saw a lot of growth between Tuesday and today. Bellarmine is a great program and they've got a very veteran team, so I just loved seeing the resolve of our guys to regroup quickly on a short turnaround with long travel and be able to just come back with a clean slate and be ready to play and get that win today.
 
"We dodged hard and kept it simple in terms of the offensive system that want to run; just a very back-to-basic style lacrosse. There were some awesome things on offense and then we got some good jump starts from our guys in our clearing game as well, which led to some opportunities. So, learning and finding ways to manufacture goals all over the field was key and we'll continue to build and get better in our settled offense sets going forward.
 
"Just continuing to be better at executing all of our systems every single day and working on our mindset about being in the moment and not thinking about something that happened before or thinking about something ahead. Just being where our feet are and being ready to compete on Tuesday will be key."
 
GAME NOTES
• Saturday's game served as the third all-time meeting between Canisius and Bellarmine. The Griffs hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series with Saturday's victory.
• Canisius played its 20th game to be decided by a single goal under seventh-year head coach Mark Miyashita and improved to 10-10 in those games.
• Canisius held its opponent to 10 goals or fewer for the 27th time under Miyashita and improved to 18-9 when doing so.
• Canisius outshot Bellarmine by a 40-35 margin for the contest, highlighted by a combined 24-13 edge in the first and fourth quarters.
• The Griffs were a perfect 25-for-25 in clearing attempts on Saturday while Bellarmine was 19-of-21.
• Canisius was 0-fort-5 in man-up situations while Bellarmine did not have a single EMO as the Griffs were not whistled for a penalty.
• Webster matched his career high in points for the second straight contest with his four-point performance on Saturday.
• Wolford became the freshman to score a goal this season with his tally late in the third quarter.
• Mitchell matched his career high in both goals and points as he finished with two goals and three points on Saturday.
• Sophomore Alexis Simard recorded multiple caused turnovers in a game for the fourth time in his career as he finished with two on Saturday.
• Kunz recorded double-digit saves for the second straight contest and 16th time in his career as he made 11 saves on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius travels to regional rival Hobart on Tuesday. Start time for the contest between the Griffs and Statesmen is slated for 5 p.m. at the Thomas B. Poole '61 and Family Sports Dome in Geneva, N.Y.
 
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