BUFFALO, N.Y. – Canisius senior midfielder Will Hudson scored the golden goal in the second overtime as the Golden Griffins defeated the Monmouth University men’s soccer team, 1-0, Saturday night at the Demske Sports Complex. With the loss, the MAAC Champion Hawks fall to 8-6-4 (7-1-2 MAAC), while Canisius ends its season at 7-9-2 (3-6-1 MAAC). Monmouth entered the game with its seed in the upcoming MAAC Championships already secured, as the Hawks will face fourth-seeded Manhattan Friday at 4 p.m. on Fairfield University’s Lessing Field.

 

Monmouth controlled the action early, taking an 11-3 edge in shots in the first half. The Hawks forced Canisius keeper Ryan Arvin to make three saves in just over the first 18 minutes of play, while Bryant Avalos (Brick, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) hit the post in the 37^th minute.

 

The stat sheet evened out a bit in shots in the second half. Some of the Hawks’ top contributors played sparingly or not at all after halftime. Hawks goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky (Lincoln Park, N.J./DePaul Catholic) made a pair of saves in the second half to send the game to overtime.

 

The first overtime ended with Canisius’ lone shot being blocked, while Monmouth’s Dave Nigro (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) had a shot saved and Tomas Penfold’s (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) shot in the 100^th minute sailed high. Monmouth had two opportunities early in the second overtime, with Edney Derrick’s (Kumasi, Ghana/KNUST University) shot going wide and Matt Jeffery’s (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) header off a corner going high.

 

After an Alex De Carolis shot was blocked in the 105^th minute, Chris Berardi passed the ball to Hudson in the box on a bicycle kick and the senior midfielder slipped a shot past Klenofsky for the game winner.

 

For the game, Monmouth took an 18-16 edge in shots and an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.