Griffs suffer heartbreaking loss to Bulls, look ahead to Metro play

By Andrew Nowel, Editor-In-Chief

Tying the game in the 69th minute, the women’s soccer team had their sights set on the final 20 minutes, but the Buffalo Bulls had other plans. With a kickoff goal to ensure their 2–1 victory, the Bulls finished the Griffs’ non-conference schedule in defeat, but Canisius looks ahead to a brand new day: Sep. 5 against Sacred Heart.

The Griffs wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a familiar foe on Wednesday night when they traveled just six miles north to the campus of the University of Buffalo. Junior forward Azaria Fagan continued her success in the early season with her second goal of the campaign, tying the game at one-all after the Bulls struck first earlier in the game.

As the Bulls reset at midfield, senior Eva Blatz lined up to restart play. A strategy in soccer is to shoot the ball directly from midfield on goal instead of passing the ball to a teammate to resume play. Blatz lined up and kicked off, but not to her teammates. The ball sailed towards Canisius freshman keeper Alexa Turmel, tipped off the top of her gloves and hit the back of the net, shocking everyone on the field. Even with 20 minutes left in the game, there wasn’t much the Griffs could do, and the Bulls took home the Big Four win.

With a 3–2 non-conference record and the final piece of the puzzle ending in defeat, Head Coach Ryan Louis focused on the positives of the preseason and the start of the season. With an older team, the Griffs returned one of the most playoff-experienced rosters the program has seen in over 15 years. Without the leadership of recent graduates Skylar Cornell, Lizzy Harkness and Mia Iacona, the Griffs turned to seniors Maggie Cregan, Elizabeth Cavanaugh and Jessica Whitaker.

Cregan has quickly become a key player on the Griffs after coming off the bench her first two seasons at Canisius. Beginning at the end of last season, Cregan started to produce offensively, earning her crucial minutes in key games. Now as a senior, Cregan leads the offense as a consistent starter and leader. “She’s the heartbeat of the team. She’s really intelligent, crafty and clinical and has become a key player for us,” said Louis during the preseason.

Cavanaugh also took on a bigger role last season as a main starter on the wing, and it’s carried into this season as she has started all five games, providing a key role in setting up the offense. Whitaker, one of three captains, has started 52 of her 54 games with the Griffs and has been consistently the top scorer for the team. Both bring experience that’ll help as the team gets ready for Metro play.

With the team returning key players, there are always changes, and the results of these changes aren’t known until the season starts. Losing freshman standout Chloe Tseros to the transfer portal, Louis needed to bring in a keeper that fit the defensive system of the Griffs. That’s where Turmel comes in. Hailing from Levis, Quebec, Turmel played club soccer for AS Beauport for 14 seasons. Louis praised Turmel’s ability to come in and take on the starting role in just her freshman season. “She has great communication, she’s a fierce competitor and she’s really mature. We think she could be the best keeper in program history with the talent that she has,” said Louis.

The next chapter in the 2026 season for the Griffs will be conference play, starting this weekend against the Sacred Heart Pioneers, a rematch of last year’s championship game. Every year, the Griffs have built upon the previous teams’ success during Louis’ tenure, and this year, the goal is no different. With their eyes on the prize, the Blue and Gold aim for one more climb: the first-ever Metro championship.