Men’s Soccer earns first point in Metro play
By Patrick Marek, Sports Reporter
The beginning of Metro play has seen the continuation of the Canisius men's soccer team's struggles. Starting off 0–2 with losses against Iona and Rider, the midweek matchup against Mount St. Mary’s had a much different feel.
A motivated Canisius team dominated the early possession and cashed in on a scoring chance midway through the first half. Scored by the team’s leading scorer, Romero Nicolazzo, after a well–worked attack starting from midfield. The Canisius defense would hold solid and bring the game to halftime with a one–nil lead.
The game would flip in the second half and see the Mountaineers dominate the attack. The visiting side would eventually bring the game level with a 65th–minute goal by Lincoln Bauer, after which Canisius was forced to come out of their defensive shell and find the winning goal.
Play would open up and create a back–and–forth final 20 minutes. Junior Sydney Aggrey put the Griffs a few feet away from the winner, just narrowly missing the net in the 80th minute. However, both teams would end up being able to subdue the other and end up sharing the points in a 1–1 draw.
On the box score, the Blue and Gold put six shots on net, a stat they have struggled to keep up thus far. Canisius goalkeeper Adam Schantz made his Griffs debut guarding the posts, turning away three shots en route to securing the Griffs’ first conference point. Freshman Brian Bautista also made his first start for Canisius while fellow freshman Brayden Zavala–Lopez recorded his first career point with the secondary assist on Nicolazzo’s tally.
For the Golden Griffins, the draw will feel more like a victory. For a side yet to avoid defeat against any Division I opponent this year, the team will be delighted to have finally done so.
On top of the result, the team will be happy with an overall positive performance. Forcing the away keeper to make five saves and just narrowly missing out on a late winner are the signals of an offense finally starting to click.
The question now is, facing a solid Quinnipiac squad on the road, can the team continue its growth. The Canisius squad has had other noteworthy performances this season, with nonconference games against St. Bonaventure and St. John Fisher showing similar potential. However, they were then followed by back–to–back Metro multi–goal defeats.
The Griffs will need to use the momentum this time around if they have any hope of a conference playoff appearance this season. Canisius will continue Metro play when they travel to Hamden, Conn. for a clash with the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
Comments