Lexington, Va. (March 24, 2007)?The last time Manhattan Men's Lacrosse produced a scoring output greater than their effort on Saturday afternoon, Matt Slane was still in middle school. Now a freshman attackman, Slane scored four times and added two assists during the Jaspers' offensive explosion at Virginia Military Institute as Manhattan opened its MAAC schedule with a 22-10 road win.
The 22 goals mark Manhattan's highest offensive output since 2000 when the Jaspers trounced Wagner College 26-2. Manhattan's highest scoring total in 2006 also involved VMI as the Jaspers downed the Keydets 12-7 in the season finale.
Three of Slane's four goals were part of Manhattan's 12-2 scoring run over an 18-minute interval during the second and third quarters. After VMI's Steve Long scored two straight goals to tie the game at 5-5, Slane began the Manhattan onslaught with two consecutive scores of his own, putting the Jaspers ahead 7-5 at the 8:31 mark of the second period.
VMI's Kevin Hill cashed in on a man-up situation to bring the Keydets within one at the 6:58 mark, but Manhattan sophomore Angelo Marrano answered right back exactly 1:30 later to make the score 8-6.
With just over five minutes remaining in the opening half, the game quickly became the Brian Murray Show. Murray, who led Manhattan with seven goals and six assists entering the contest, rattled off four goals in the final 5:15 of the second quarter. Jasper senior Pat Canty and the Keydets' Matt Harrison also found the back of the net during the waning minutes of the half as Manhattan went into the locker room with a 13-7 advantage.
Manhattan went on to tally the first four goals of the second half with freshman Luke Dilillo opening the scoring only 48 seconds into the period. Seconds later, Slane added another one.
After making four saves as his team built a 21-9 lead, starting goalie John Geagan's day was done after the third quarter when he gave way to freshman net minder Michael Reynolds. After earning the victory in his collegiate debut at Lees-McRae College, Reynolds made three saves to preserve the victory in what was his first taste of MAAC action.
Before VMI knotted the game at 5-5 early in the second quarter, Manhattan was enjoying a 5-2 advantage.
The Jaspers drew first blood just 47 seconds into the contest when sophomore Marc Labelle set up senior co-captain Chris Oppito for his fourth goal of the year. Oppito added two second-half tallies to complete the hat trick, while also adding an assist. Less than four minutes after Oppito's first tally, Labelle doubled Manhattan's lead with an even-strength unassisted goal.
VMI received a man-up goal from Brett Leonard, but tallies from Brian Murray and Kevin Dorsey, who scored with just two ticks left in the opening period, gave the Jaspers a 4-2 advantage after one. Marrano beat VMI goalie Sean McCoy at the 13:04 mark of the second quarter to make it 5-2 in favor of the Kelly Green and White.
Marrano, Murray, Slane, Oppito, and Dilillo all produced multi-goal efforts to improve Manhattan's record to 4-1 overall. The Jaspers continue their MAAC schedule on Tuesday, March 27 when they meet Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa.
