Men’s Soccer seniors lead to win on senior day

By Ryan Patota, Sports Reporter

The Canisius men’s soccer team won their final home game of the season, defeating Merrimack 2-1 on senior day, to finish the season with five wins for the first time under Head Coach Michael Tanke.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, senior Glodie Mata and sophomore Gianni Angaraan both scored, while graduate student goalkeeper Dom Dominguez earned his fourth win of the season, making two saves.

Players from the senior class have noticed the growth in the program with improvements from where they started. Mata explained, “I think the one thing the culture has changed the program is getting the players to believe in the system and wanting to win with commitment. One of the ways we improved from last season is we changed our core values.” Mata, one of six seniors on the team, was part of the first group of players Tanke recruited when he joined the program in 2022.

Five wins is the most in the Michael Tanke era since he took over the program four years ago. “It’s been a steady improvement from year-after-year with the program – with the improvement it’s been slower than what I hoped, but it shows you our process is working.”

The Griffs were stifled in their pursuit of a sixth win of the season, falling to Niagara in the Battle of the Bridge on Wednesday to wrap up their 2025 campaign. Canisius finished the season with a 5-10-1 overall record and a 3-7 mark in conference play.

Photo courtesy of Lindy Feider