NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men’s soccer team struggled offensively in its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener, dropping a 3-0 decision to Canisius Saturday afternoon at Niagara Field. With the loss, Niagara drops to 2-6-1 on the year, while Canisius improves to 2-7-0.

"It was a disappointing start to the conference season," head coach Dermot McGrane said. "There’s a long way to go in the year. We need to learn from our mistakes today and use that to improve for next week."

Niagara had several scoring opportunities in the early minutes, including a solid attempt by junior Stephen Kauble (Canal Winchester, Ohio), whose strike at the 10:09 mark was just outside the right post. Although Niagara outshot Canisius 28-20 on the day, including 17-9 in the first half, the Purple Eagles were unable to find their scoring touch.

However Canisius proved dangerous on throw ins, as the Griffs’ Collin Lynch was able to consistently create scoring opportunities with his long tosses. Canisius capitalized on Lynch’s throw in the 23rd minute when Alan McGreal was able to get under the ball and flick it over NU’s John Fiutowski (Ottawa, Ont.), giving Canisius a 1-0 lead.

Niagara had a few opportunities to tie the game, with their best chance coming in the 26th minute when junior Matthew Durand’s (Melbourne, Australia) header hit the post. The Purple Eagles also had several chances to get on the scoreboard in the second half, but were unable to find the back of the net. Freshman Jordan DeRoy (Barrie, Ont.) freed himself near the right corner of the six-yard box but was unable to redirect Durand’s pass. NU nearly scored in the 57th minute, when junior Joe Skinner (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) found Durand inside the penalty box but Durand’s shot sailed over the crossbar.

Canisius doubled its lead at the 74:21 mark when McGreal centered a ball from the goal line that Brendan Brody redirected into the goal. The Golden Griffins added a third tally near the end of the game when McGreal found himself all alone on Fiutowski and touched the ball around NU’s keeper and into the back of the net.

Niagara returns to the field Friday, when they host Marist in a 3 p.m. contest.