Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. ? Entering Wednesday's game, the Manhattan College men's lacrosse team had never lost to Wagner in nine all-time meetings. And a loss to the Seahawks on Wednesday would've severely hurt the Jaspers' chances at earning a return trip to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament. Fortunately, the Jaspers (7-6, 3-2 MAAC) took care of business, moving above .500 in MAAC play for the first time this season with a 9-7 victory over the Seahawks (1-12, 0-5 MAAC) at Wagner Stadium.
Manhattan seized control of the contest early, building a 6-2 halftime advantage. After Wagner got on the board first with an unassisted tally by Mike Hurley, the Jaspers scored the next five goals. Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tied the game 43 seconds after Hurley's goal, then Sal Perrotto (Garnerville, N.Y.) and Brett Miranda (Ossining, N.Y.) each scored to give Manhattan a 3-1 lead after the first quarter.
James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) and Jensen notched second-quarter goals to extend Manhattan's lead to 5-1 before Mike Scheerer got the Seahawks back on the board with 3:57 remaining in the first half. Manhattan regained a four-goal lead when Synowiez tallied his second goal of the quarter to make it 6-2 at halftime.
The Jaspers extended their lead to 8-2 on goals by Erich Smith (St. Louis, Mo.) and Joe Variano (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) early in the third quarter, but Wagner took control from that point. The Seahawks scored five of the game's final six goals, starting with Jeff Policicchio's tally at the 10:50 mark of the third quarter. Hurley scored the next two goals to complete a hat trick and trim Wagner's deficit to 8-5 after three quarters.
Policicchio scored with 6:53 remaining in the fourth quarter to pull the Seahawks within two at 8-6, but Perrotto responded with his second goal of the game to bring Manhattan's lead back to three goals, 9-6, with 4:02 left. Brian Poissant cut it to two again 17 seconds later, but Manhattan goalkeeper John Geagan (Seaford, N.Y.) didn't let anything else get past him the rest of the way and the Jaspers held on for an important 9-7 victory.
The Jaspers controlled much of the action, outshooting the Seahawks 44-28 and posting 38 ground balls, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to Wagner's 28. Manhattan also won 12 of the 19 faceoffs. Offensively, Synowiez led the way with three points (two goals, one assist), while Jensen and Perrotto each notched a pair of goals. Variano added a goal and an assist. Angelo Marrano (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) paced the Jaspers with six ground balls, while Kyle Moeller (South Setauket, N.Y.) corralled five ground balls. Geagan (5-6) made nine saves.
Hurley (three goals) and Policicchio (two goals, one assist) each registered three points for the Seahawks, and Will Macumber distributed two assists. Chris Ridente collected six ground balls for Wagner. Goalkeeper Peter Rubin (1-12) kept his team in it for much of the early going and finished with 20 saves.
The Jaspers have now won two straight, three out of four, and six of their last eight games. Manhattan, which is 3-0 on the road in conference play this season, is tied for fourth place in the MAAC with three games remaining on the schedule. However, the Jaspers are tied with Mount St. Mary's and would be on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today because of the Mountaineers' 12-9 victory at Gaelic Park on March 14.
The Jaspers play their next two contests at home before ending the season at Marist on April 26. On Saturday, Manhattan hosts defending MAAC champion Canisius (3-7, 2-4 MAAC) for a 3 p.m. contest. Saturday is also Senior Day at Gaelic Park, as seniors Geagan and Marrano will be honored prior to the game.
