Oct. 13, 2001

Box Score

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. -Frank Fusco completed 11 of 17 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Golden Griffins to their first victory in over two years. Canisius out-scored the Saints 20-3 after the intermission to account for the 17-point victory.

The Saints got in the board with just over six minutes remaining in the first quarter as sophomore Julian Brown (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) capped off a 12 play, 59-yard drive with a six-yard TD scamper. Brown rushed for a game-high 93 yards on 24 carries. After a muffed punt, the Griffins got on the board on the final play of the first quarter as tailback David Schmidli scored his first of two touchdowns from seven yards out. The point after attempt failed.

The Saints, who controlled the action in the first half answered right back on the next series. Quarterback Christian Karolus (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull), who completed 19 of 29 passes for 184 yards, connected with Robert Prince (Yonkers, N.Y./Westlake) just behind two Canisius defenders on a 31-yard pass play for the score. Prince ended with a game-high seven receptions for 96 yards.

Javon Taylor reeled in a Fusco pass from 14 yards out with just over a minute remaining in the half to pull the Golden Griffins within two points. The Golden Griffins tied the score with an ensuing two-point conversion.

After the two teams exchanged third quarter scores - a five-yard Schmidli run for the Griffs and a 26-yard Charles Conklin field goal for the home-standing Saints - Fusco threw for a TD pass and rushed for another score to put the game away in the final quarter. The former score was a back-breaking 43-yard catch and run play with Darin Johnson.

Dan Smacchia, the reigning MAAC Player of the Week, made a game-high 17 tackles for the Saints. Siena out-gained Canisius 294-289 in total offensive yards.

The win snapped a 24-game losing streak for Canisius and thwarted the Saints' effort for a second straight victory. It was the Griffs first MAAC win since September 26, 1998 - a victory over Siena. Both teams are now 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Siena returns to Heritage Park next Saturday against Iona College. The game, which is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m., caps off a four-game homestand.