Perhaps the most important thing the Robert Morris men's lacrosse team can take away from their only regularly-scheduled night game of the 2019 season is the need for a more finely tuned work ethic, as well as a sharper focus, going into their final non-conference test before Northeast Conference play. That game, which sees Big East challenger Marquette come to campus in less than 72 hours, seems to have taken on a greater meaning after another early-season result that went a different direction. The Colonials (1-4) tried to mount another second-half rally but weren't able to outwork longtime Buffalo-based rival Canisius (3-3), which spoiled their return home with a 12-8 win amid a late downpour at Joe Walton Stadium Saturday. Despite a lower-body injury to leading scorer Carter Stefaniak in the first half, Mario Caito piggybacked the Golden Griffins across the finish line with his six goals. "You really do need to have a short memory after these ones. Moving into another game will hopefully help that," said head coach Andrew McMinn. "We've got to find a way to come out here and prepare better, and that's going to start tomorrow, going into Monday. Hopefully we can come out and put a much better product on the field on Tuesday." Midfielder and co-captain Tyson Gibson, also a star of the 2017 twilight visit by Canisius, led the RMU offense on this rainy evening with two goals and two assists. Gibson, one of 30 Division I men's lacrosse nominees for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award, one of the premier citizenship awards in intercollegiate athletics, continued the fine start to his senior season, also leading all participants with 11 shots taken. The 6'1", 188-pound Maple, Ontario, native has scored a goal in 13 of his last 14 games and registered a point in 26 of his previous 27 outings. An Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-NEC selection, Gibson brought his totals up to ten goals and 16 points in five contests to start the season. After the game, Gibson was made the sixth Major League Lacrosse selection in program history when the Atlanta Blaze, via trade, snapped him up with the 41st overall pick in the fifth round of this year's draft. With Robert Morris trailing 3-2, he set up a man-up goal on the right wing by Justin Robinson, who tied the game with his first collegiate tally 1:37 into the second quarter. That assist gave Gibson 54 all-time and sole possession of fourth place in RMU history, passing James Rahe '16 (Vancouver Warriors, NLL). Gibson also helped Brandon Sulhoff close out the second-quarter scoring for the Colonials, lobbing a ball down low that the novice attackman buried from the close right wing for his third of the year, trimming the Griffins' lead to 5-4 with 7:43 remaining. RMU rolled up its collective sleeves offensively in the third quarter, controlling pace of play and time of possession, but had nothing to show for it until Gibson helped will his team back into the game. After Austin Popovich took a rip from distance that found the back of the net with 2:07 to go, Gibson scooped a ground ball off the ensuing faceoff and took matters into his own hands, scoring from deep on the right side. The two-time All-NEC First Team honoree made it a 9-7 game seven seconds before the horn, quickly beating Brad Nordstrom thanks to a centering pass from fellow middie Jake Boudreau. The sophomore also netted two goals of his own for RMU Saturday. His second of the game and sixth of the season put the Colonials back within a pair with still just under five minutes to play. A Trey Arnold faceoff win gave Robert Morris the ball and momentum, but it was unable to solve Nordstorm or evade the Canisius defense before a couple of man-up goals into vacant nets put the game away. Arnold continued to show vast improvement as a junior, going 13-for-21 (.619) from the X with six ground balls. He had ranked fourth in the NEC with 6.75 GB's per game entering Saturday. Senior defenseman Jack Toomb was credited with a team-high seven. This gives him 180 for his career, putting the Cincinnati native past Kyle Buchanan '12 (San Diego Seals, NLL) for third in RMU history. Robert Morris won the ground ball battle from Canisius by a 38-33 margin. Fellow senior Alex Heger finished with 12 saves, including a couple desperate stops from point blank. After the game, the Preseason Inside Lacrosse First Team All-American became the program's seventh MLL draftee all-time when the Ohio Machine took him with the 59th overall pick in Round Seven of the league's collegiate draft. The opening faceoff of Tuesday's game versus the Golden Eagles is set for 1:00 p.m. EDT at Joe Walton Stadium. Admission is free, with a free livestream also available on NEC Front Row.