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RIVERDALE, N.Y.- On a day in which Manhattan College honored five of its senior players, the Jaspers (0-14-0, 0-8-0) battled but fell to Iona College 3-0 Sunday at Gaelic Park.
Playing their final home contest of the 2010 season, Manhattan hosted their annual “Senior Day,” celebrating the careers of fourth-year members Joseph Lorenz, Matt Gormley, Jake Ostrov, Sean Russell and Joshua Renner with a pregame ceremony and a splendid team effort but it was the Gaels (6-8-1, 4-3-0) who would finish with the positive result by the games' end.
Two days after the Jaspers erased a seven-game scoring drought, first-year coach Ashley Hammond was hopeful the goal would provide a kick start to the team's offensive slump, however it would be Iona who came out firing on Jaspers' goaltender Joseph Lorenz.
A grueling 90 minutes of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference soccer, Manhattan pushed the Gaels for the entirety of the contest but were unable to match their opposition in the attacking zone as they were outshot 26-10 overall, including a 10-2 margin in shots on goal.
"Iona was one of the better teams we've played this season, Hammond said. "I was impressed with our ability to stay organized and fit against a tough opposition. In goal, Joseph Lorenz was without a doubt our man of the match today."
Dodging several bullets in the defensive zone early thanks to stellar goaltending from Lorenz, the Jaspers finally paid for their backline mistakes in the 33rd minute. Off a quick pass inside the box from Iona senior Julian Grajales, freshman Frankli Castellanos cut inside and fired a shot to the upper right side of the post for a 1-0 lead. It was his second goal of the season.
Trailing by the same score at intermission, Manhattan slowed the game down in the second half and had opportunities to tie the contest but it was not to be on this final day of soccer in Riverdale. No longer content with a slim advantage, Iona would seal the game with two goals in a ten-minute span to start the final 45 minutes.
In the 54th minute, Gaels' first-year member Orlando Castanedo took a pass from Castellanos and struck a ball from 12-yards out into the left corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage, and his second score on the campaign.
Seven minutes later, in the 61st minute, Iona would finish a strong effort with another lead-padding score. On a penalty kick, senior Mario Rios sent a bending ball to the right post and in for the final 3-0 score and his second tally of the year.
Between the pipes, Gaels sophomore Jesse Fullerton made two saves for his fourth shutout of 2010 while Lorenz made seven saves in his final collegiate game.
Offensively, the Jaspers had nine players record at least one shot with Ostrov and freshman Carlo Giachino, each compiling two.
"We really wanted a win for the seniors but looking at the game overall, the boys did some nice things on the field and we will be ready to play on Tuesday night."
Manhattan College will return to the field on Nov. 2, when they travel to West Point, N.Y. for a 7 p.m. showdown with Army.
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