Jaspers Top Detroit In MAAC Opener, 11-8

RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On an absolutely perfect spring day at Gaelic Park, the Manhattan College men's lacrosse team opened its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule against conference newcomer Detroit on Saturday afternoon.  The sides were tied at halftime, but James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) scored three times in the third quarter to lift the Jaspers (3-3, 1-0 MAAC) to an 11-8 victory over the Titans (0-6, 0-1 MAAC), who were playing in their first conference game as a MAAC member.

Detroit didn't look like a team that is in just in second season as a Division I program in the first quarter, as the Titans held 2-1 lead after 15 minutes.  Joe Variano (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) opened the scoring at the 9:30 mark, but Brandon Davenport won the faceoff, then raced down and scored the equalizer just 15 seconds later.  Ty Maruyama found the back of the net 1:29 later to give Detroit a 2-1 advantage, which it would hold for the rest of the quarter.

The Jaspers won the faceoff to open the second quarter, and Erich Smith (St. Louis, Mo.) connected with Variano, who notched his second goal of the game to tie the score just nine seconds into the period.  Manhattan went in front on a goal by Jordan Sherman (Ravena, N.Y.) at the 13:35 mark before Detroit responded with a tally of its own two minutes later.  The Jaspers regained the lead on Jason Davis's (Rocky River, Ohio) first career goal, then Detroit's Joel Matthews scored with 2:06 remaining in the half to create a 4-4 halftime deadlock.

Synowiez registered his first goal of the contest at the 12:46 mark of the third quarter, but the Titans again tied it on Jordan Houtby's tally with 10:00 left.  Synowiez added a man-up tally midway through the quarter to give his team the lead once again, and the Jaspers took control with a pair of goals 31 seconds apart late in the quarter.

After Detroit scored early in the fourth quarter to pull within 8-6, the Jaspers increased their cushion to five goals with three tallies in two minutes.  The rally was sparked by goalkeeper Jon Fiorillo (Painted Post, N.Y.), who started a pair of Manhattan breaks after making a save then firing it down to an open midfielder in stride, first Salvatore Spatarella (Rocky Point, N.Y.), then Smith.  Fiorillo got credit for an assist on Smith's goal.  Spatarella added an unassisted tally at the 10:08 mark to give the Jaspers an 11-6 lead.  Detroit scored less than a minute later, then added another tally midway through the quarter, but Fiorillo made five fourth quarter saves to preserve an 11-8 Manhattan victory.

Synowiez added two assists to go along with his hat trick, completing a five-point game.  Variano also had a hat trick, while Spatarella also tallied three points (two goals, one assist).  Smith recorded a goal and an assist.  Kyle Moeller (South Setauket, N.Y.) collected four ground balls and caused three turnovers, while Kyle Ochwat (Farmingdale, N.Y.) also registered four ground balls.  Fiorillo (3-1) allowed eight goals and made 14 saves to go along with his assist and game-high nine ground balls.

Matthews was the only Detroit player with a multi-goal game.  He added an assist to complete a three-point day.  Scott Harris (one goal, one assist) and John Nowicki (two assists) each had two points for the Titans, while Jordan Houtby caused six Manhattan turnovers.  A.J. Levell corralled eight ground balls, as Detroit had a 45-43 advantage on the ground.  Levell (0-6) took the loss in net after allowing 11 goals and making 11 saves.