An early four-goal deficit on the road to MAAC title contender Canisius did not shake the confidence of the Siena Men's Lacrosse team on Saturday.
Instead, it challenged them to find a way—and then some—as the Saints took the lead back early in the fourth quarter and then added on five more insurance goals to win going away 16-10 at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo.
For a second consecutive game, four players notched at least three goals in the game with Pratt Reynolds scoring six times while Conor Hufnagle, Patrick Radomski and Travis Fry all scored three times as Siena scored at least 16 goals for the fifth time this season.
Siena (8-4 overall, 6-1 MAAC) moved up into second place in the MAAC standings and only trail Sacred Heart, who are also 6-1 in the MAAC, but lost the head-to-head tie-breaker to them by a single goal.
The Golden Griffins dropped to 6-9 overall and 6-2 inside MAAC play and currently occupy the third seed.
Siena's six-game win streak is the longest its' had since a stretch in which the team won eight straight from March 14, 2012 through April 21, 2012.
After allowing six goals in the first quarter, Siena clamped down and allowed just three goals thereafter. The Saints scored four straight goals from Reynolds, two by Hufnagle and another by Reynolds to take a 7-6 brief advantage before Canisius responded back with goals by Lance Williams and Jordan Reed to go up 8-7 heading into the break.
Kaiden Libby extended that lead to 9-7 Canisius with 13:02 remaining in the third quarter, however Siena would score nine of the game's final 10 goals.
Radomski would secure his hat trick with back-to-back-to-back scores within a 13-minute stretch and provide Siena with a 10-9 lead with 10:45 left in the fourth quarter. After a goal by the Golden Griffins' TJ Buono, Reynolds, Fry, Caden Olmstead, Hufnagel and two by Travis Fry provided a Green & Gold finish.
At the "X", freshman Logan Banek shook off the slowest start he's had this season. Facing one the premier face off specialists in the conference in Micah Hansen, Banek closed by winning a more respectable 12 of 28 face offs (.428) and a team-high nine ground balls.
Reynolds' six goals put him into a tie with Bryan Neufeld (2009-2012) for second place all-time in goals scored with 156. Only Tony Asterino has scored more goals as a Saint with 168 goals.
In net, Andrew Arcuri made eight saves while R.J. Ihlefeld, Joe Valenza and Carter Fort all were credited with two caused turnovers apiece on defense.
Siena held a slim 39-36 advantage for shots including 23-18 for shots on goal.
Siena returns to action Wednesday, April 23 when it hosts Marist (7-6 overall, 5-2 MAAC) at 4 p.m. at Hickey Field in the regular season finale. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
The Saints have secured at least a Top-4 seed in the MAAC playoffs and have an opportunity for the No. 1 seed with a win on Wednesday combined with a Sacred Heart loss versus Manhattan on Wednesday.
