Le Moyne broke open a tightly-played game with a stretch midway through the contest when it scored four of five goals to defeat the Canisius College women's lacrosse team 9-6 in the conference opener for both teams.

The team's traded goals throughout the first half, with Le Moyne getting four of the half's seven goals. The seven goals came after the initial seven minutes of the half were scoreless and before the final 13 minutes were scoreless as well.

The Dolphins (6-4, 1-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) recorded three of the first four goals of the second half to take a 7-4 lead. Amanda Keegan scored two of her game-high three goals during that run.

The Griffs (3-6, 0-1) scored the next two goals as Whitney Card (Alton, Ont.) and Marissa Brown (Syracuse, N.Y.) brought the Griffs within one at 7-6 with 17:54 remaining in the contest.

Le Moyne got the final two goals of the game for the final margin.

Rasheeda Brenton (Clarence, N.Y.) made 10 saves for the Griffs while Samantha Falcone had eight for the Dolphins.

"We improved our energy level from Tuesday night's game and played hard tonight, but we have to learn to control our emotions and not play carelessly," Canisius coach Scott Teeter said. "Tonight was two of the top teams in the conference battling in a playoff-type game early in the season."

Canisius starts the road portion of its MAAC schedule on Sunday, when the Griffs travel to Siena. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Game Notes: Erica Nasca (Orchard Park, N.Y.) returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game… Brown extended her point streak to nine games… The 15 combined goals were the fewest scored in a conference game since the Griffs fell 9-5 to Niagara April 12, 2004… Lauren Walsh (Auburn, N.Y.) had her third multi-goal game in the last four contests… The six goals were the fewest scored by the Griffs in a MAAC game since having six against Siena April 24, 2005.

2007-03-30