Men’s Soccer celebrates Senior Day with win, falls to Bonnies in midweek matchup
By Patrick Marek, Sports Reporter
After suffering four straight non–conference losses, the Canisius men's soccer team entered the weekend's matchup against Division III St. John Fisher desperate for a win. Playing one of the weaker teams on their schedule at home, gave the Griffs a great opportunity to experiment with the squad and launch themselves back to their winning ways.
To honor its graduating members, the Griffs filled its starting lineup with 10 seniors and two graduate students. The all-senior squad was able to put one in the back of the net as Edson Flores netted his first goal of the season.
With a 1–0 advantage, Canisius put out their starting lineup to begin the second half. Despite the slow start, the home side would break through and pummel the Cardinals goal with an additional five goals behind the keeper.
Within this onslaught, came three goals off the foot of junior Romero Nicolazzo, all within the span of seven minutes. Nicolazzo became the first Canisius player since Oct. 28, 2015 to score three or more goals in a single match.
The six–to–zero scoreline was a much–needed exclamation mark to the team’s Senior Day celebrations, producing their best performance of the season so far.
Following the win, Canisius headed into a difficult Little Three rivalry matchup with a home date against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday.
The Bonnies dominated possession, but struggled to score against a well–organized and physical home side. Eventually, St. Bonaventure would break through in the 60th minute after producing nine shot attempts. The away side would hold on to survive a strongly willed Canisius counterattack to see the game out as a one–nil victory.
In spite of the loss, the team will feel much better starting Metro play after the past two games than they did just a week ago. Restoring some confidence in the team's attacking ability may be what they need to begin conference play and square off against some of the stronger teams in the conference.
With Metro play now on the horizon, the question is whether the momentum from the last week can carry over against conference opponents. The team has shown it can score in bunches and stay organized when tested, but has struggled to put both together against difficult competition.
Canisius will open its Metro season when they take on the Iona Gaels in New Rochelle, N.Y. on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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