Albany, N.Y. - Kayla Best scored four of her five goals in the second half and Christine Grueniger added a career-high six points in leading UAlbany to its third straight win with a 17-4 non-conference victory over Canisius on Sunday, March 14 at John Fallon Field.
     UAlbany (3-1) led 5-3 at halftime, but then exploded with 12 unanswered to take control. Best, a senior midfielder, scored four consecutive times in a span of five-plus minutes to ignite that run. After clearing the ball following a Canisius turnover, Best spun around two defenders to her right shoulder to find the net. She then converted two free-position opportunities, the first when she went to the lower right corner and the second with a bounce shot low into the left side. She gave her team a 9-3 advantage with 20:52 left by scoring from the middle of the zone off a feed from Grueniger. Midfielder Nikki Branchini started the scoring play after collecting a ground ball following a failed clear.
     The Great Danes, who are averaging just over 18 goals per game this season, scored eight more times over the next 16 minutes. Grueniger, who totaled four goals and two assists, hit the cage twice with free-position shots during that stretch. Taylor Frink, a junior attack who had two goals and one assist, did all of her scoring in that stretch. She finished off Jodi Battaglia's pass from right of the crease for a 16-3 lead with 7:45 remaining.
     In the first half, Canisius (3-3) controlled the tempo and closed within 3-2 when junior attack Ashley Curtis sent a free-position attempt into the lower left corner. The Great Danes responded as Mel Rorie converted a drive from the top of zone with a blast high into the net. Grueniger scored 27 seconds later by splitting two defenders and sending a sidearm delivery inside the right post. Meanwhile, UAlbany goalkeeper Ashley Ross kept her team in front, as she thwarted a couple of free-position opportunities en route to an 11-save performance. The senior also stopped 11 shots in the season opener at Hofstra.
     "She made some big stops and cleared the ball well," said Best, who tied her season-high goal total and extended her goal-scoring streak to 50 straight games. "She allowed us to get into transition. We were standing around on offense in the first half. We stepped it up in the second half and started passing and playing together."
     UAlbany's Rorie, a junior midfielder, added a season-high four points on three goals and one assist. Curtis scored a pair for the Golden Griffins, who were coming off a 13-11 victory over Binghamton four days earlier. Allison Daley, an All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference goalkeeper, made 10 saves.
     "My teammates did a great job of helping me predict where the ball was coming from," explained Ross, who is in her first year as a starting lacrosse goalkeeper and earning all-conference honors as a goalie with the UAlbany field hockey program. "I made a few saves early, especially on the free positions. My anticipation was good and I am starting to feel more comfortable."

Paw Prints:  The Great Danes have matched their best start as a Division I program ... UAlbany went 3-1 to begin the 2006 campaign ... Kayla Best scored a season-high five goals for the second straight game ... Best moved into third place on the career goals list with 134 and climbed past Debbie August, who had 132 from 1993-96 ... Mel Rorie equaled a career-high with four points ... the junior midfielder also had four points against five opponents last season.

UAlbany 17, Canisius 4 (Mar 14, 2010, John Fallon Field, Albany, N.Y.)