ERIE, Pa. - It took almost half of the first period for the Gannon women's lacrosse team to kick into high gear. Unfortunately for Canisius, the Lady Knights were running on all cylinders for the final 45 minutes.

Gannon scored 13 consecutive goals while holding Canisius scoreless for 38 minutes and 20 seconds as the Lady Knights rolled to a 16-8 victory over the Division I squad Wednesday afternoon at Gannon University Field.

Canisius looked to be in control after scoring the first five goals. The Golden Griffins still led 7-3 after Marissa Brown's second goal of the match with 8:26 left in the first half.

However, it was all Gannon after Brown's score. The Lady Knights scored the final two goals of the first half and went to halftime trailing 7-5. It was the start of 13 consecutive goals.

Gannon scored the first 11 goals of the second half. Canisius did not score again until Janelle Wright tallied her first goal of the season with six seconds remaining.

Seven different Lady Knights scored in the victory, including six who scored at least two goals. Shannon Pagano (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego), Melissa Hill (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), and Colleen Dixon (Lafayette, N.Y./Lafayette) recorded hat tricks with three goals each.

Joanna Culkin (Clifton Park, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) had four points with two goals and two assists. Taryn Millerd (Shortsville, N.Y./Midlakes) and Krista Schunk (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) added two scores each.

Acacia Cook (Clay, N.Y./Clay-NS) made nine saves in goal. Gannon out-shot Canisius 34-26, including a 20-11 advantage in the second half.

Gannon, ranked seventh in NCAA Division II, remained perfect at 6-0 with Wednesday's victory. The Lady Knights are off to the best start in school history. Canisius dropped to 2-4.

Gannon returns to action Saturday, March 17 against third-ranked West Chester at Gannon University Field. The critical regional match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

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Gannon rallied from a 7-5 halftime deficit with 11 second-half goals to defeat the Canisius College women's lacrosse team 16-8 Wednesday afternoon in Erie, Pa.

Three Golden Griffins tallied two goals – Lauren Walsh (Auburn, N.Y.), Marissa Brown (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Ashley Gray (Baldwinsville, N.Y.). Aweyhio Thomas (Six Nations, Ont.) had two assists as those four players led Canisius (2-4) with two points.

Canisius tallied the opening five goals of the game to take a 5-0 lead with 16:16 remaining in the first half. Gannon scored five of the next seven goals of the half, including the last two, to cut the lead to 7-5 at intermission. That two goal stretch by Gannon (6-0) ignited a 13-goal streak by the Knights.

Five players scored multiple goals for Gannon as Colleen Dixon and Shannon Pagano led the team with three goals apiece while Joanna Culkin had a game-high four points.

Canisius returns home Thursday afternoon to host Robert Morris at the Demske Sports Complex. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.

Game Notes: Gannon is ranked No. 7 in the latest Division II lacrosse poll… The Griffs lost draw controls 19-7 in the contest… Janelle Wright (Geneva, N.Y.) recorded her second career goal late in the contest… Walsh got back in the scoring column after seeing her 14-game point streak end against Notre Dame… Amanda Marts (Hamburg, N.Y.) has scored in four of the last five games… The two goals by Brown are a career high for the freshman who has scored in all six games this season.

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Box Score

2007-03-14