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Canisius University Athletics

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Members of the Canisius men's lacrosse team celebrate after scoring a goal at VMI on March 30, 2024
8
Canisius CANISIUS 3-8, 1-4
12
Winner VMI VMI 6-5, 2-3
Canisius CANISIUS
3-8, 1-4
8
Final
12
VMI VMI
6-5, 2-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Canisius CANISIUS 1 0 4 3 8
VMI VMI 2 3 4 3 12

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Ends Road Swing with Loss at VMI

Luke Rusterucci and Nate Golding recorded hat tricks to pace VMI in a 12-8 victory over Canisius in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday at Drill Field #2 in Lexington, Va.
 
Rusterucci also added an assist for a game-high four points to lead the Keydets (6-5, 2-3 MAAC) attack. Cole Jones pitched in two goals while Alex English chipped in a goal and an assist. Adam Norris made 12 saves between the pipes for the home team.
 
Junior Patrick Mitchell recorded three goals for the Golden Griffins (3-8, 1-4 MAAC). Freshman Mason Wolford scored two goals while senior Hunter Parucki and junior TJ Buono both notched a goal and an assist.
 
Junior Tommy Kunz recorded 12 saves in goal. Sophomore Micah Hanson recorded 15 face-off wins and added in a game-high eight ground balls.
 
VMI jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Mitchell got Canisius on the board midway through the opening frame on a feed from senior Jaxon Fridge to make it a one-goal game after 15 minutes.
 
The Keydets controlled play during the second quarter as it scored all three goals in the frame, highlighted by a pair of tallies from Jones, to build a 5-1 cushion heading into the halftime break.  
 
Canislus clawed back into the contest during the opening stages of the third, rattling off three unanswered goals to pull within one, 6-5, with just under five minutes to play in the frame.
 
VMI responded to the Griffs surge, scoring three goals in a 68-second span to take a 9-5 lead heading into the fourth.
 
A Nate Golding tally opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, giving the Keydets their largest lead of the game, 10-5.
 
Canisius registered three of the next four goals to pull within three, 11-8, with just over four minutes to play.
 
The Griffs were unable to get any closer, however, as Golding closed out the scoring in the final minute of regulation to determine the four-goal margin of victory for the Keydets.
  
HEAD COACH MARK MIYASHITA'S POST GAME COMMENTS
"A lot of effort and energy went into crawling back into the game in the third and making it a one-goal contest. Unfortunately, we dug ourselves a hole early that we had to spend a lot of physical and emotional capital on and doing so eventually led to that little spurt that they had in the third and we couldn't close the gap again. So, we've got to find a way to not hurt ourselves with some of the decisions that we're making on the field. It's not just one facet struggling; we must make sure that we're clean in all three areas of the game and that's got to change.
 
"We didn't shoot the ball well at all in the first half. That's one big factor for us. We need our more experienced guys on that end of the field to deliver and shoot. We also made a couple of mistakes in our clearing game early in the second quarter that put us on our heels and we had to spend a lot of energy playing defense and we're not quite used to it. We've got to start finding ways to beat ourselves and do a better job of putting ourselves in a position that we're not chasing and playing from behind."
 
GAME NOTES
• VMI outshot Canisius by a 42-41 margin for the contest. The Keydets held a 24-13 edge during the first half while the Griffs posted a 28-18 advantage in the second half.  
• Canisius was 2-for-5 in man-up situations while VMI was 0-for-2 with the extra attacker.
• Mitchell recorded his second hat trick of the season with his three-goal performance on Saturday.
• Kunz recorded double-digit saves for the 10th time this season as he finished Saturday's contest with 12 saves.
• Hanson finished with double-digit face off wins for the fourth straight contest as he notched 15 wins at the "X" on Saturday.
• Wolford recorded multiple goals for the fourth time this season with his two-goal performance on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius returns home April 5 when it hosts LIU in a MAAC contest. Opening faceoff between the Griffs and Sharks is slated for 3 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex.
 
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