By: Hunter Lobur Cummins
This past week, the Canisius women’s lacrosse team faced a dire situation.
Starting goaltender Shannon Maroney was injured in the team’s game against the Monmouth Hawks meaning she would have to miss some time. As Maroney was the only goalie on the roster, it left the Griffs with no answer in net. The team weighed all their options, including sending a mass email to the student body in search of somebody willing to play, to no avail. Instead, they looked to freshman midfielder Hailey Rooney, who took over between the pipes with no previous goaltending experience.
The rookie got the job done and thensome.
The Griffs scored a pair of overtime wins, downing Quinnipiac 10–9 on Saturday and Marist 11–10 on Wednesday, as Rooney earned her first two wins in net.
“Obviously it was really intimidating, I didn’t really know how I was going to do going into the game, but I did put in the extra work in my off time,” Rooney said of the game against the Bobcats. “It was an amazing team win, and I couldn’t have done it without everyone else.”
Rooney also was sure to credit the team for keeping her spirits high throughout the duration of the game, and specifically Shannon Maroney for letting her know how proud she was of her efforts. She tallied 12 saves in the win over Quinnipiac.
On the offensive side of the game, the Griffs were led by four goals from Skylar McArthur, two each from Megan Hoffman and Paige Stachura, and one each from Katie Smolensky and Caroline Netti. Netti’s 30th marker of the season in overtime was the game clinching goal for Canisius. The largest lead held by either team throughout the game was by only one goal, a neck-and-neck battle until the end. Head coach Russell Allen was sure to stress the fact in the postgame press conference that the group takes the season day-by-day, not looking too far ahead at any point. He was very proud of the team and their efforts in the victory.
Next up for Canisius was a showdown with Marist on Wednesday, April 20 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. With Rooney again between the pipes, the freshman put up a strong 10-save performance. Just like the previous game, Skylar McArthur was the leading scorer, this time with five goals. That brought her season total up to an impressive 41 so far. Paige Stachura collected three of her own tallies, bringing her yearly total up to an even 40 as it currently stands. Riley Davis scored twice, and Caroline Netti offered one goal of her own to round out the Canisius scoresheet. It was McArthur’s fifth of the afternoon that sealed the game for the Griffs in the extra period of play.
Canisius will close the regular season with a matchup against the Fairfield Stags in Fairfield, Conn. on Saturday, April 23 at 12 p.m. The Griffs sit in second place in the MAAC, behind rival Niagara. It is important for the team to not lose footing in the standings, as it will not want to drop to a lower seed when the postseason comes calling very soon.