Saturday, April 15
Demske Sports Complex - Buffalo, NY
12:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
at
Canisius
QU Women's Lacrosse Heads to League-Leading Canisius on Saturday
4/13/2017 12:28:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Quinnipiac Bobcats (3-10, 2-3 MAAC) at
Canisius Golden Griffins (10-4, 5-0 MAAC)
Saturday, April 15, 2017 – 12:00 PM
Demske Sports Complex – Buffalo, NY
All-Time Series vs. Canisius: Series tied 3-3
Last Meeting: L, 12-7 (2016 – Hamden, Conn.)
Follow the Game
Live Stats: GoGriffs.com
Live Video: ESPN3
Twitter: @QU_WLAX
The Quinnipiac women's lacrosse team embarks on its annual Buffalo trip as the Bobcats are set to face league-leading Canisius on Saturday at 12 PM from the Demske Sports Complex in a game that can be seen live on ESPN3. The Golden Griffins, winners of seven straight and nine of their last 10, pose a huge challenge but the Bobcats have the added motivation as a win would put Quinnipiac in the driver's seat for their first-ever MAAC Tournament berth.
LAST GAME
Fairfield used a 14-1 run to surge past Quinnipiac as the Bobcats fell to their in-state MAAC foe 17-5 at home on Wednesday. Tied 2-2 after the first 18+ minutes of play, the Stags dominated the ensuing 30 minutes to claim the convincing victory. Ashley Bobinski netted two goals for her fifth multi-goal game of the season, Julia Corrice dished out a career high three assists and Kyle Larkin notched 10 saves for her fifth straight double digit save outing.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius comes in playing their best ball of the season as the Golden Griffins stand with an overall mark of 10-4 while coming in with a record of 5-0 in the MAAC. Winners of seven straight and nine of their last 10 overall, Canisius has dominated league foes in accumulating a combined score of 94-30 (+64, +12.5 average scoring margin) over their five opponents (Manhattan 15-5, Iona 18-5, Siena 25-11, Monmouth 18-3 and Marist 18-6) in conference play. The MAAC's top scoring offense (15.1 goals per game), Canisius is simply a dominant team also coming in tops in the MAAC in assists (6.8 per game), shot percentage (52.1) and save percentage (.502) while also ranking second in draw controls (13.1), fewest turnovers (16.2) and goals-against average (9.93). Erica Evans is the top player in the MAAC and one of the best in the nation as the All-American leads the MAAC with 70 points (53 goals, 17 assists) in 14 games. Evans was named the NCAA's Player of the Week on Monday as she went for 13 points in two games last week. Just a junior, Evans recently became the fifth player in program history to reach the 200-point plateau while she has the sixth-most goals (53) in the nation and 10th-highest point total (70). Backing up Evans with solid depth of scoring is Jourdan Roemer (25-24-49) and Tessa Chad (39-5-44) who each come in with 40+ points through 14 games while Lauren Smolensky (12-27-39), Jen Reininger (31-6-37) and Allie Stewart (22-10-32) are knocking on the 40-point mark. Rebecca VanLaeken is a gifted goalkeeper who leads the MAAC in save percentage (.496) while also sitting second in goals-against average (10.23).
SERIES HISTORY
Before first meeting as MAAC opponents in 2014, it had been 12 years since the Bobcats last played the Golden Griffins. Quinnipiac won the first three meetings, including their first two home games coming in 1999 (W, 19-6) and 2001 (W, 12-6). After 12 years without playing one another, Canisius has dominated the series since Quinnipiac joined the MAAC, winning three straight including a most-recent 12-7 triumph in Hamden last season.
LARKIN'S LASER-LIKE FOCUS
Quinnipiac's road loss to Marist (4/8) saw Kyle Larkin dominate in goal as the junior posted a career high 20 saves on 30 shots-on-goal in a 10-4 defeat. Larkin's career highlight sees her become the first Quinnipiac goalkeeper to stop at least 20 shots in a single-game since Megan Matthews posted a program record 24 saves on March 30, 2003. Larkin's 20-save effort marked just the fifth time in Quinnipiac history that a goalkeeper has reached the 20-save mark.
COMEBACK CATS
After going more than two full seasons without coming back from a three-goal deficit in the second half, Quinnipiac has managed to overcome three-goal second half deficits in each of their three wins this season (10-9 over CCSU, 12-11 at Manhattan, 14-13 in overtime at Iona). Prior to the start of 2017, Quinnipiac had gone 38 games without accomplishing the feat as their last win before the start of the season when trailing by at least three in the second half came on March 29, 2014 as the Bobcats trailed Manhattan 10-6 before coming all the way back to win 12-11.
OVERCOMING IN OVERTIME
Quinnipiac's 14-13 overtime win at Iona signaled the first time the Bobcats won an overtime decision since defeating Iona 13-12 back on March 6, 2013. The Bobcats had lost their last three straight overtime games prior to defeating the Gaels on the road.
HLESCIAK HERE TO SCORE
Alex Hlesciak's 2017 season has been a revelation as the senior comes in with a team-leading 23 goals in 13 games played thus far while also adding 21 draw controls, 13 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. The 23 goals scored leads the team while setting a new career high as Hlesciak came into the season with 18 career goals through her first three seasons (40 games) as a Bobcat. Hlesciak recently tallied four goals (all in the first half) in a win over Iona, marking the third hat trick of her career (all in 2017). Since the start of MAAC play, she has compiled nine goals in five games.
LARKIN'S LEAP
Kyle Larkin's play in the cage has been stellar over the last 10 games as she has accumulated 125 saves (12.5 per game) over that span. She has recorded double digit saves in five straight games, while increasing her total to 16 double-digit save outings for her career. Her lowest single-game save percentage in that 10-game span is an impressive .434 while she has saved at least 50 percent of all shots-on-goal in six of the last 10 games. Larkin's goals against average stands at 12.18 in the stretch while she has posted a staggering .512 cumulative save percentage.
FLARE FOR THE DRAMATIC
Quinnipiac's leading scorer Allison Kuhn (18-7-25) has had a flare for the dramatic all season, as the sophomore has produced two game-winning goals while assisting on the game-tying goal in the Bobcats' win over Manhattan (4/1). With her team trailing 8-5 against CCSU (2/18), Kuhn scored or assisted on four of the five goals in a game-deciding 5-0 run for Quinnipiac over a 10-minute span. Facing a 10-8 deficit at Manhattan with 10 minutes remaining, Kuhn scored the game-tying goal that made it 10-10 and later assisted on Ellie Swenson's game-tying goal to make it 11-11, all prior to Ashley Bobinski's game-winner. Finally, in an overtime win at Iona (4/5), Kuhn scored with 37 seconds remaining to tie the score and send the game into the extra session before coming through scoring the game-winner in OT.
SUDDEN SURGE
Moved into more of a goal-scoring position on offense, Ellie Swenson has come through with solid showings since the start of MAAC play. In five conference games, Swenson posted two points against Monmouth and struck for her first career hat trick at Manhattan to highlight her total of eight points (six goals, two assists) through five MAAC games. The eight-point total eclipsed her entire output from her freshman season in 2016 (five points) while she has 12 points (9-3-12) thus far in the 2017 season.
LAST MINUTE MAGIC
Ashley Bobinski's game-winning free position tally with nine seconds left in a 12-11 win at Manhattan (4/1) marked the first time the Bobcats won on a goal in the final minute of play since March 28, 2013 (63 games ago). In that game, Maria Blois scored the game-winner with 10 seconds remaining as the Bobcats defeated Bryant, 16-15.
LEADING THE WAY
Quinnipiac's leading scorer in 2017 Allison Kuhn (18-7-25) has come alive since MAAC play started as she has compiled 13 points (10-3-13) in five league games. Kuhn went off at Manhattan and matched her career high with five goals while adding one assist for a game-high six points. The 2016 MAAC All-Rookie selection is on pace to shatter her freshman year total of 27 (19-8-27).
DEFENSIVE DYNAMO
One season after leading the MAAC in both caused turnovers and ground balls per game, junior Preseason All-MAAC First Teamer Kiera Kelly is back at it again with her strong one-on-one defensive play. Currently leading the team in ground balls (41) and caused turnovers (33), Kelly leads the MAAC in caused turnovers per game (2.54) and ranks third in ground balls per game (3.15). In her career, Kelly already ranks second all-time at Quinnipiac in caused turnovers (89) while she sits fifth in ground balls (134).
SENIOR MOMENT
Alex Hlesciak played the game of her life against Fresno State (3/16) as the senior racked up a career high five goals in a 9-8 loss to the Bulldogs. In 45 games prior to the match at Fresno State, Hlesciak tallied a single-game high of two goals on six different occasions. She exploded for five goals, more than double her previous career-best, while scoring four straight goals for the Bobcats. Hlesciak added a second career hat trick at UMass Lowell (3/22) and now leads the Bobcats with 23 goals this season, five more than sophomore Allison Kuhn in second place with 18 through 13 games.
SHUTTING THE DOOR
Junior goalkeeper Kyle Larkin has played some of the best lacrosse of her career in the last week as she racked up a career high 16 saves in a loss to UC Davis (3/12) and then passed that with 19 saves in a loss to Hofstra (3/18). Larkin posted 11 of her 16 saves in the first half alone against UC Davis, surpassing her previous career high of 14 from a road game at Siena last season, and then had 11 of her 19 saves against Hofstra in the second half.
NEW SEASON…NEW TEAM
Trailing by three in the second half, Quinnipiac answered with five straight goals to catapult the Bobcats out front and ultimately to a season-opening 10-9 victory over CCSU (2/18). A resounding come-from-behind victory to open the career of first-year head coach Tanya Kotowicz at Quinnipiac, the victory stands as the first win in a season opener for the Bobcats since defeating UConn, 11-10, all the way back in the 2009 season (seven straight season-opening losses prior to tonight's win). Incredibly, Quinnipiac's win marks just the fourth victory in a season opener in the 19 seasons since joining the NCAA Div. I ranks (1999).
INSTANT IMPACT
Freshman Ashley Bobinski's first career game certainly stands out as one to remember as she scored four goals on four shots to make her the highest-scoring rookie in her debut as a Bobcat in program history. The last rookie to post a hat trick in her debut with Quinnipiac came back in 2012 as Kyra Ochwat tallied three goals against UConn. Bobinski scored three times, securing her hat trick after 17 minutes of play, which she added one more in the second half to give her a team-leading four tallies while igniting the game-deciding 5-0 second half run. Bobinski also had a two-goal, one-assist performance to have a hand in three of Quinnipiac's four goals in a loss at Hofstra (3/18).
Canisius Golden Griffins (10-4, 5-0 MAAC)
Saturday, April 15, 2017 – 12:00 PM
Demske Sports Complex – Buffalo, NY
All-Time Series vs. Canisius: Series tied 3-3
Last Meeting: L, 12-7 (2016 – Hamden, Conn.)
Follow the Game
Live Stats: GoGriffs.com
Live Video: ESPN3
Twitter: @QU_WLAX
The Quinnipiac women's lacrosse team embarks on its annual Buffalo trip as the Bobcats are set to face league-leading Canisius on Saturday at 12 PM from the Demske Sports Complex in a game that can be seen live on ESPN3. The Golden Griffins, winners of seven straight and nine of their last 10, pose a huge challenge but the Bobcats have the added motivation as a win would put Quinnipiac in the driver's seat for their first-ever MAAC Tournament berth.
LAST GAME
Fairfield used a 14-1 run to surge past Quinnipiac as the Bobcats fell to their in-state MAAC foe 17-5 at home on Wednesday. Tied 2-2 after the first 18+ minutes of play, the Stags dominated the ensuing 30 minutes to claim the convincing victory. Ashley Bobinski netted two goals for her fifth multi-goal game of the season, Julia Corrice dished out a career high three assists and Kyle Larkin notched 10 saves for her fifth straight double digit save outing.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius comes in playing their best ball of the season as the Golden Griffins stand with an overall mark of 10-4 while coming in with a record of 5-0 in the MAAC. Winners of seven straight and nine of their last 10 overall, Canisius has dominated league foes in accumulating a combined score of 94-30 (+64, +12.5 average scoring margin) over their five opponents (Manhattan 15-5, Iona 18-5, Siena 25-11, Monmouth 18-3 and Marist 18-6) in conference play. The MAAC's top scoring offense (15.1 goals per game), Canisius is simply a dominant team also coming in tops in the MAAC in assists (6.8 per game), shot percentage (52.1) and save percentage (.502) while also ranking second in draw controls (13.1), fewest turnovers (16.2) and goals-against average (9.93). Erica Evans is the top player in the MAAC and one of the best in the nation as the All-American leads the MAAC with 70 points (53 goals, 17 assists) in 14 games. Evans was named the NCAA's Player of the Week on Monday as she went for 13 points in two games last week. Just a junior, Evans recently became the fifth player in program history to reach the 200-point plateau while she has the sixth-most goals (53) in the nation and 10th-highest point total (70). Backing up Evans with solid depth of scoring is Jourdan Roemer (25-24-49) and Tessa Chad (39-5-44) who each come in with 40+ points through 14 games while Lauren Smolensky (12-27-39), Jen Reininger (31-6-37) and Allie Stewart (22-10-32) are knocking on the 40-point mark. Rebecca VanLaeken is a gifted goalkeeper who leads the MAAC in save percentage (.496) while also sitting second in goals-against average (10.23).
SERIES HISTORY
Before first meeting as MAAC opponents in 2014, it had been 12 years since the Bobcats last played the Golden Griffins. Quinnipiac won the first three meetings, including their first two home games coming in 1999 (W, 19-6) and 2001 (W, 12-6). After 12 years without playing one another, Canisius has dominated the series since Quinnipiac joined the MAAC, winning three straight including a most-recent 12-7 triumph in Hamden last season.
LARKIN'S LASER-LIKE FOCUS
Quinnipiac's road loss to Marist (4/8) saw Kyle Larkin dominate in goal as the junior posted a career high 20 saves on 30 shots-on-goal in a 10-4 defeat. Larkin's career highlight sees her become the first Quinnipiac goalkeeper to stop at least 20 shots in a single-game since Megan Matthews posted a program record 24 saves on March 30, 2003. Larkin's 20-save effort marked just the fifth time in Quinnipiac history that a goalkeeper has reached the 20-save mark.
COMEBACK CATS
After going more than two full seasons without coming back from a three-goal deficit in the second half, Quinnipiac has managed to overcome three-goal second half deficits in each of their three wins this season (10-9 over CCSU, 12-11 at Manhattan, 14-13 in overtime at Iona). Prior to the start of 2017, Quinnipiac had gone 38 games without accomplishing the feat as their last win before the start of the season when trailing by at least three in the second half came on March 29, 2014 as the Bobcats trailed Manhattan 10-6 before coming all the way back to win 12-11.
OVERCOMING IN OVERTIME
Quinnipiac's 14-13 overtime win at Iona signaled the first time the Bobcats won an overtime decision since defeating Iona 13-12 back on March 6, 2013. The Bobcats had lost their last three straight overtime games prior to defeating the Gaels on the road.
HLESCIAK HERE TO SCORE
Alex Hlesciak's 2017 season has been a revelation as the senior comes in with a team-leading 23 goals in 13 games played thus far while also adding 21 draw controls, 13 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. The 23 goals scored leads the team while setting a new career high as Hlesciak came into the season with 18 career goals through her first three seasons (40 games) as a Bobcat. Hlesciak recently tallied four goals (all in the first half) in a win over Iona, marking the third hat trick of her career (all in 2017). Since the start of MAAC play, she has compiled nine goals in five games.
LARKIN'S LEAP
Kyle Larkin's play in the cage has been stellar over the last 10 games as she has accumulated 125 saves (12.5 per game) over that span. She has recorded double digit saves in five straight games, while increasing her total to 16 double-digit save outings for her career. Her lowest single-game save percentage in that 10-game span is an impressive .434 while she has saved at least 50 percent of all shots-on-goal in six of the last 10 games. Larkin's goals against average stands at 12.18 in the stretch while she has posted a staggering .512 cumulative save percentage.
FLARE FOR THE DRAMATIC
Quinnipiac's leading scorer Allison Kuhn (18-7-25) has had a flare for the dramatic all season, as the sophomore has produced two game-winning goals while assisting on the game-tying goal in the Bobcats' win over Manhattan (4/1). With her team trailing 8-5 against CCSU (2/18), Kuhn scored or assisted on four of the five goals in a game-deciding 5-0 run for Quinnipiac over a 10-minute span. Facing a 10-8 deficit at Manhattan with 10 minutes remaining, Kuhn scored the game-tying goal that made it 10-10 and later assisted on Ellie Swenson's game-tying goal to make it 11-11, all prior to Ashley Bobinski's game-winner. Finally, in an overtime win at Iona (4/5), Kuhn scored with 37 seconds remaining to tie the score and send the game into the extra session before coming through scoring the game-winner in OT.
SUDDEN SURGE
Moved into more of a goal-scoring position on offense, Ellie Swenson has come through with solid showings since the start of MAAC play. In five conference games, Swenson posted two points against Monmouth and struck for her first career hat trick at Manhattan to highlight her total of eight points (six goals, two assists) through five MAAC games. The eight-point total eclipsed her entire output from her freshman season in 2016 (five points) while she has 12 points (9-3-12) thus far in the 2017 season.
LAST MINUTE MAGIC
Ashley Bobinski's game-winning free position tally with nine seconds left in a 12-11 win at Manhattan (4/1) marked the first time the Bobcats won on a goal in the final minute of play since March 28, 2013 (63 games ago). In that game, Maria Blois scored the game-winner with 10 seconds remaining as the Bobcats defeated Bryant, 16-15.
LEADING THE WAY
Quinnipiac's leading scorer in 2017 Allison Kuhn (18-7-25) has come alive since MAAC play started as she has compiled 13 points (10-3-13) in five league games. Kuhn went off at Manhattan and matched her career high with five goals while adding one assist for a game-high six points. The 2016 MAAC All-Rookie selection is on pace to shatter her freshman year total of 27 (19-8-27).
DEFENSIVE DYNAMO
One season after leading the MAAC in both caused turnovers and ground balls per game, junior Preseason All-MAAC First Teamer Kiera Kelly is back at it again with her strong one-on-one defensive play. Currently leading the team in ground balls (41) and caused turnovers (33), Kelly leads the MAAC in caused turnovers per game (2.54) and ranks third in ground balls per game (3.15). In her career, Kelly already ranks second all-time at Quinnipiac in caused turnovers (89) while she sits fifth in ground balls (134).
SENIOR MOMENT
Alex Hlesciak played the game of her life against Fresno State (3/16) as the senior racked up a career high five goals in a 9-8 loss to the Bulldogs. In 45 games prior to the match at Fresno State, Hlesciak tallied a single-game high of two goals on six different occasions. She exploded for five goals, more than double her previous career-best, while scoring four straight goals for the Bobcats. Hlesciak added a second career hat trick at UMass Lowell (3/22) and now leads the Bobcats with 23 goals this season, five more than sophomore Allison Kuhn in second place with 18 through 13 games.
SHUTTING THE DOOR
Junior goalkeeper Kyle Larkin has played some of the best lacrosse of her career in the last week as she racked up a career high 16 saves in a loss to UC Davis (3/12) and then passed that with 19 saves in a loss to Hofstra (3/18). Larkin posted 11 of her 16 saves in the first half alone against UC Davis, surpassing her previous career high of 14 from a road game at Siena last season, and then had 11 of her 19 saves against Hofstra in the second half.
NEW SEASON…NEW TEAM
Trailing by three in the second half, Quinnipiac answered with five straight goals to catapult the Bobcats out front and ultimately to a season-opening 10-9 victory over CCSU (2/18). A resounding come-from-behind victory to open the career of first-year head coach Tanya Kotowicz at Quinnipiac, the victory stands as the first win in a season opener for the Bobcats since defeating UConn, 11-10, all the way back in the 2009 season (seven straight season-opening losses prior to tonight's win). Incredibly, Quinnipiac's win marks just the fourth victory in a season opener in the 19 seasons since joining the NCAA Div. I ranks (1999).
INSTANT IMPACT
Freshman Ashley Bobinski's first career game certainly stands out as one to remember as she scored four goals on four shots to make her the highest-scoring rookie in her debut as a Bobcat in program history. The last rookie to post a hat trick in her debut with Quinnipiac came back in 2012 as Kyra Ochwat tallied three goals against UConn. Bobinski scored three times, securing her hat trick after 17 minutes of play, which she added one more in the second half to give her a team-leading four tallies while igniting the game-deciding 5-0 second half run. Bobinski also had a two-goal, one-assist performance to have a hand in three of Quinnipiac's four goals in a loss at Hofstra (3/18).
Players Mentioned
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