Saint Joseph's Defeats Canisius, 10-9, in 2007 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Semifinal
MAAC Sports
Emmitsburg, Md. - Third-seeded Saint Joseph's University advanced to the championship game with a 10-9 victory over second-seeded Canisius College in the second semifinal game of the 2007 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship at the Waldron Family Stadium on the campus of Mount St. Mary's University.
Tom Hensel began the scoring offense for the Golden Griffins with his unassisted goal 1:55 into the first quarter. The Hawks then tied the game as they opened up their scoring effort at the 6:40 mark with Steve Varga netting a pass from Mike O'Neill.
Two and a half minutes into the second quarter, Steve O'Brien scored a goal, assisted by Varga, to put Saint Joseph's ahead, 2-1. Kyle Illg then tied the game again for Canisius as his netted an unassisted goal with 9:52 remaining in the half. Alex McColough put the Hawks ahead, 3-2, with his unassisted goal with 8:23 left in the quarter. A minute and a half later, McColough gave his squad another goal (4-2) on the scoreboard, scoring his second unassisted goal of the day.
Canisius was the first to score in the second half as Matt Hajek found the back of the net, with help from Kevin Ross, just 16 seconds into the third quarter. Illg then netted his second goal of the day less than a minute later to tie the game at 4-4. Saint Joseph's O'Brien would break that tie at the 12:13 mark, netting a pass from Chris O'Neill, to put the Hawks ahead, 5-4. With 3:32 remaining in the stanza, O'Brien recorded his third score of the day, aided by Varga, to give Saint Joseph's a 6-4 lead. The Griffs closed within one as Phil Riggi registered his first goal of the season with 1:21 left in the third quarter.
The Hawks continued their offensive effort, as Varga and Mike O'Neill scored back-to-back goals within the first 1:30 of the fourth quarter. But the Griffs would not back down without a fight, as Michael Blocho and Michael Benzinger netted unassisted goals over a 2:30 span to bring the Griffs within one (8-7). Saint Joseph's Mike O'Neill netted another shot from Varga at the 8:37 mark to give his squad a two-goal lead (9-7). Canisius' Ross then scored his first goal of the contest at the 7:47 mark to bring the Golden Griffins within one once more. Exactly two minutes later, the Griffs tied it at 9-9 at Benzinger tallied his second goal of the day. The stalemate would be broken by the Hawks with 29 seconds left in the game, thanks O'Brien's fourth goal of game off a pass from Alex Lopes.
Eric Hotaling posted for five stops for Saint Joseph's, while Angus Dineley recorded seven saves for Canisius.
Saint Joseph's will play Providence College in the championship game on Sunday, May 6, at 1:00 p.m. The winner of the championship game will earn the league's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. The NCAA bracket will be announced on ESPNU between 9:00-10:00 p.m., and on ESPNews between 9:15-10:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 6.
Recap:
Saint Joseph's (6-10, 5-3 MAAC) 1 3 2 4 -- 10
Canisius (6-8, 5-3 MAAC) 1 1 3 4 -- 9
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Saint Joseph's - Steve O'Brien (4-0), Steve Varga (2-3),
Mike O'Neill (2-1), Alex McColough (2-0), Chris O'Neill (0-1);
Peter Slowik (0-1), Alex Lopes (0-1)
Canisius - Kyle Illg (2-0), Benzinger (2-0), Kevin Ross (1-1),
Tom Hensel (1-0); Matt Hajek (1-0), Phil Riggi (1-0), Michael Blocho (1-0)
Saves: Saint Joseph's - Eric Hotaling 5; Canisius - Angus Dineley 7
Shots: Saint Joseph's 28, Canisius 18
Groundballs: Canisius 35, Saint Joseph's 28
Turnovers: Canisius 23, Saint Joseph's 16