Siena soccer plays to draw with Canisius in conference opener

BUFFALO– Sophomore midfielder Conor McGlynn scored his first three points of the season and senior goalkeeper Aleksa Radosavljevic had an epic overtime performance as Siena Soccer secured a 2-2 draw at Canisius in the conference opener for both teams in Buffalo. Freshman midfielder Alejandro Riquelme accounted for the other Siena score for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Canisius (6-2-1, 0-0-1) out-shot Siena (2-3-4, 0-0-1) 25-10 including 11-1 in the overtime periods. But Radosavljevic made five of his eight saves during the extra sessions – including a match-saving stop on a penalty kick by Alex Grattarola in the 99th minute – to preserve the tie. The Saints played down a man for the final 10:38, but withstood the Golden Griffins’ surge to leave Buffalo with a well-earned point against a solid Canisius squad which entered the week ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches’ Northeast Regional Rankings.

McGlynn staked Siena to a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when he finished a cross from sophomore back Frank Cotroneo for his first goal of the season. The Golden Griffins responded 10 minutes later when Grattarola converted his first of two penalty kick attempts on the afternoon.

Canisius took a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute on a goal from Filippo Tamburini, but Riquelme responded with 5:02 remaining in regulation. McGlynn and sophomore midfielder Diego Ruiz used some nifty passing to find Riquelme who finished to send the Saints to overtime for the seventh time in nine matches to open the season.

The Saints return to action Saturday when they host Iona in their MAAC home opener at Siena Turf Field at 1 p.m.