Men’s Soccer falls in first game of Metro play
By Ryan Patota, Sports Reporter
The Canisius men’s soccer team sought to bounce back this past weekend after closing out their nonconference slate with a tough home loss to Little Three rival St. Bonaventure. The team took the road last weekend to New Rochelle, N.Y. to face the Iona Gaels in their first conference game of the season.
The Griffs, who have struggled to gain any sort of momentum this season, looked to turn it around against the Gaels this past Saturday. The team was unsuccessful, falling 6–1. A positive from the game was the much needed goal from junior forward Romero Nicolazzo, who scored his fourth goal of the season off a penalty kick in the 27th minute of the match.
Nicolazzo, who scored three goals in just a seven–minute span in a win earlier this season, could become a key player in turning the season around for Canisius.
“He’s such a handful physically; his impact to us extends well beyond the production,” said Canisius Head Coach Michael Tanke. The junior forward has developed into a key piece for the Griffs, and it started when he moved to the striker position midway through last season for more goal–scoring opportunities. Nicolazzo has created a consistent problem for opponents to defend since the move, and the results have shown with a career–high in goals only seven games into the season.
Canisius has fallen in six of their first seven matches to start the campaign, and the team is using this week of practice to get back to the fundamentals. That includes getting back to the defensive identity the team has shown earlier in the start of the season.
“We need to get back to being committed to defending. Everything else offensively comes from that,” said Tanke. In a group full of experienced players, Tanke considers Nicolazzo as one of the team’s leaders, where the team's continued togetherness and willingness to work can help turn its season around despite the early struggles.
The Griffs will look to bounce back on Saturday and look for its first conference win under the newly named Metro Conference in a home matchup against the Rider Broncs, with the kickoff set for 1 p.m.
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