Men’s Soccer nabs first conference win; falls in finale to Niagara
By Sam Britton, Sports Reporter
The Canisius men’s soccer team wrapped up its 2026 campaign this past week as they played their last two games. On Halloween, the Griffs won their first conference game of the season, carving up Merrimack 5–1 on their home turf. Then, they traveled back to Buffalo to face Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara on Wednesday evening, where they lost 2–0.
The Blue and Gold went into Saturday with nothing to lose. The team was 1–12–1 overall and 0–7–1 in conference play. They faced a formidable Merrimack team that was an unbeaten 2–0–6 in conference play and who was looking to clinch a Metro postseason berth. Going into the game, Canisius had not scored more than one goal in any game the entire season, outside of their one win against Division III St. John Fisher.
The entire script was flipped on its head when junior Romero Nicolazzo netted two goals in the first ten minutes of the game. Soon after, from the 29th until the 33rd minute, Canisius added another three goals. Senior Kevin Villacorta–Osorto started it off after rebounding his own shot and scoring his second goal of the season. Then, the assist leader of the year, sophomore Noah Baumslag, found junior Kerby Henao for his first goal of the campaign. In the 33rd minute, Nicolazzo again added himself to the stat sheet after finding senior Jason Hernandez on a cross, who also tallied his first goal of the season, bringing the score to 5–0.
Merrimack tried to stop the bleeding and added to the barrage in the 36th minute. However, this was all in vain as the score remained 5–1 through halftime and the 90th minute.
On Wednesday, the Griffs looked to build on their win in the rivalry matchup against Niagara. The Purple Eagles were an even 3–3–3 in conference play coming into the game, and with a win, they would nearly guarantee their spot in the Metro postseason. Niagara came out flat, and Canisius was slightly more in control to start, but they could not capitalize.
The closest chance for the Griffs came with four minutes remaining in the first half. Graduate forward Glodie Mata made a dash toward the box, making a defender miss on a tackle and fall over before crossing it to freshman Brian Bautista, who laid it off to Villacorta–Osorto at the far post. Villacorta–Osorto’s shot barely clipped the left foot of the Niagara goalkeeper, and the ball went out of play.
Going into the second half, the score was gridlocked at zero. However, a pair of goals in the 51st and 77th minutes gave Niagara the lead and, eventually, the win.
The team rounds out the year with a 2–13–1 overall record and a 1–8–1 record in conference play. Nicolazzo finished fourth in the conference in both points and goals while Baumslag also ended the year fourth for assists.
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