Monmouth Hawks (2-12-2, 2-6-1 MAAC) – 4
Canisius Golden Griffins (2-14-0, 1-8-0 MAAC) – 1
 
BUFFALO, NY  – After going down 1-0 in the 11^th minute, the Monmouth University men's soccer team scored four unanswered goals to defeat Canisius on Saturday night, 4-1.
 
Senior George Akampeke (Bolgatanga, Ghana/Bolgatanga) scored the equalizer in the 21^st minute, heading home a cross from freshman Ben Zakowski (Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock).
 
Sophomore Ryan Keenan (Bethlehem, PA/Northamton Area) gave Monmouth its first lead in the 44^th minute, diving to deflect a low cross from freshman Griffin Tomas (Seymour, CT/Seymour), who received the ball from redshirt junior John Antunes (Fairfield, NJ/St. Benedict's).
 
Just over four minutes into the second half, sophomore Robin Oswald (Bavaria, Germany/Maristen-Gymnasium Furth) scored his first goal on a volley from deep.
 
Zakowski eventually made it 4-1 in the 65^th minute, bending a free kick around a wall and into the upper left corner.
 
Monmouth improves to 2-12-2 (2-6-1 MAAC) on the season, and will wrap up the season on Wednesday when it hosts Iona.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"I'm happy for the boys. We've had some good performances this year and just did not get the results. Tonight, we played well for the full 90 minutes and got the three points. We're excited to play at home again on Wednesday." - Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt
 
-Canisius opened up the scoring in the 11^th minute, winning a header in Monmouth's zone, playing it over top of the defense, and finishing inside the left post.
-Monmouth got the equalizer in the 21^st minute, as Zakowski made a defender miss, sent in a cross, and Akampeke headed it home.
-Just before halftime, Monmouth took a 2-1 lead. Tomas dribbled down the left side and sent a low cross inside the six, where Keenan dove to get a foot on it.
-In the 49^th minute, Oswald hit a left-footed volley from outside of the 18 to make it 3-1.
-Zakowski made it 4-1 in the 65^th minute, connecting on the free kick from over 20 yards out.  
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-All five of Zakowski's goals this season have come in the last seven games. He leads the team with 11 points.
-Zakowski has the most goals for a Monmouth freshman since 2011 (Kalle Sotka). He also has the most goals in a single season since 2016 (Dave Nigro).
-Akampeke scored his first goal of the season and the third of his career.
-Keenan scored the first goal of his career.
-Tomas now has two assists this season. Antunes registered his fourth career assist.
-Oswald scored his first career goal in his 15^th start.
-Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sean Murray made one save in the win.
-Junior Anes Mrkulic registered a team-high five shots.
-Monmouth held a 16-8 advantage in shots.
 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will host Iona Wednesday for the 2019 finale.