BUFFALO, N.Y. ? In a rematch of the 2008 MAAC Championship game, the VMI lacrosse team defeated the Canisius College Golden Griffins 12-11 Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, N.Y.
With the win, VMI ends its 2009 campaign at 3-11 and 2-6 in MAAC action. The loss eliminates Canisius from postseason contention, and the Golden Griffins end their season with a 4-9 overall record and a 3-5 mark in League play.
VMI was paced by Tim Moran, who had his best game of the 2009 season. Moran's five goals and two assists led the Keydets, and the preseason All-MAAC honoree was helped by five other goal-scorers in the Keydets' first win over Canisius since 2003.
Saturday's contest was decided by a slugfest of a fourth quarter, as nine total goals were scored over the final 15 minutes. With the Keydets ahead 8-6 to open the frame, VMI's Colin Bosse scored early in the period to push that margin to three, but Canisius fired back with a five-goal run in just over five minutes of game action. A goal by Jimmy Haney at the 7:16 mark gave the home team took a 10-9 lead, and Adam Jones capped the spurt with a goal just 26 seconds later, but VMI responded with the game-winning run.
A Matt Piazza goal, the second of the game for the sophomore, came at the 6:27 mark to cut the Canisius lead to one, 11-10. The Golden Griffins claimed the ensuing faceoff, but their next shot attempt was saved by VMI keeper Sean McCoy, and the following shot was blocked by a defender. VMI then cleared the ball, and as the clock went under four minutes, Canisius was assessed a crucial penalty. Moran converted on the extra-man opportunity for VMI, knocking home his fourth goal of the game at the 3:30 mark and knotting the score at 11.
The home team claimed the faceoff after Moran's goal, but Jones fired a shot wide and the Keydets were able to clear. After a timeout, Moran found the back of the net off a pass from Jacob Weimer, giving the Keydets a 12-11 lead. Despite a flurry of efforts by Canisius in the final minute, VMI was able to hold on for the thrilling one-goal victory.
LoCoco and Jones, Canisius' two leaders, scored in the opening period, but VMI had two goals from Moran and single markers from Piazza and Brett Leonard, and the Keydets led 4-2 after one frame. However, the Golden Griffins scored four of the second period's five goals, including three by attackman Jones, and took a 6-5 lead into the locker room at halftime. Despite the half being somewhat low-scoring, the teams had combined for 40 shots in the first two quarters, and that pace continued into the third period, when they combined for 16 more.
Moran took the first shot of the third quarter for VMI, and it found the back of the net on an EMO to tie the game at six. From there, the teams went nearly 10 minutes without scoring, a block of time that included four penalties, several turnovers and two VMI shots that hit the post.
Finally, VMI's Ryan Crean got the scoring back underway, as the junior tallied his first career goal at the five-minute mark, giving the Keydets a 7-6 advantage. Three minutes later, the Keydets' Weimer notched his first goal of the day, as he converted off an assist from Moran to put VMI up 8-6, which would set the stage for the final dramatic quarter.
In the victory, the Keydets were led by Moran, who had a career-high tying seven points. He wraps up his junior year with 25 goals and 10 assists. Leonard, Piazza, Weimer, Weimer, Bosse and Crean all joined him in scoring goals in the VMI season finale. Sean McCoy earned the win by stopping nine shots, while Canisius' Bryan Jack made 11 saves. The Golden Griffins were led by Adam Jones, who finishes the season with 33 goals after notching six in Saturday's contest.
