Purchase Manhattan Men's Soccer Yearbook
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - In what was a weekend of déjà vu like performances, the Manhattan College men's soccer team walked onto the field at Gaelic Park confident they could earn a positive result Sunday and off of it on the wrong side of a 4-0 defeat, this time to Niagara University.
Behind a hat trick from junior striker Carl Haworth and tremendous goaltending from fellow classmate Michael Moran, the Purple Eagles (4-8-1, 2-2-0) dominated the Jaspers (0-10-0, 0-4-0) in both thirds of the field, moving back to the .500 mark in conference play with the win. While there were plenty of shots for both teams, Niagara converted four of their 28 shots while Manhattan was unable to finish any of their 17, including five on goal.
Coming off a 4-0 loss to Canisius College on Friday, the Green and White were hoping their third home match would provide a better ending but it turned out to be another breakout performance for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent.
"It's difficult to lose, but we love that nobody gave up," first-year Coach Ashley Hammond said. "We worked hard for 90 minutes and stayed healthy which is important for our team going forward."
While the Jaspers' offense continued to search for scoring, Niagara had little trouble throughout the morning. Finding space across the field, Haworth and senior midfielder Liam Gilbert produced on several of their chances, recording all four scores in the first and second half.
Gilbert got the scoring started in the 18th minute when he took a pass across the box from third-year member Levi Tesch and drove a shot over Jaspers' freshman goaltender Christopher Lands (Montclair, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) for a 1-0 lead and his sixth tally of the year.
The rest of the day's scoring would come from one of the hottest players in the conference: Carl Haworth. In the 29th minute, the Canadian forward began his offensive assault, taking a pass from Gilbert at the top of the box and sending it to the far post for a 2-0 lead and his team-leading seventh score of the year.
Early in the second half, Niagara would slam the door on any chance for a comeback. Awarded a penalty kick after being tripped on a breakaway inside the goal box , Haworth finished on an excellent fake to the right post to stretch the lead to 3-0 Purple Eagles.
Sensing an opportunity for the rare three-goal scoring feat, Haworth took matters into his own hands in the 85th minute. The elusive attacker stole a ball at midfield and raced towards the net where he sent a shot directly under the crossbar to complete the trio of goals and the 4-0 final.
For Manhattan, freshman Erick Montinard led the team in shots with four while fellow newcomers Daniel Festa, Joseph Cirollo and senior Jake Ostrov each had three.
In net, Moran picked up his first shutout of the season, making four saves while Lands made six saves before giving way to senior keeper Joseph Lorenz in the second half.
Manhattan College will return to action next weekend when they take on Siena College on Friday, Oct. 22 and Marist College on Sunday, Oct. 24th. Kickoff for both games is set at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. respectively.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter, go to twitter.com/GoJaspers or visit Manhattan's Facebook fan page.