Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Last season, the Manhattan College men's lacrosse team posted a 10-9 win at Marist on the final day to clinch a place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. This season, the Jaspers visited the Red Foxes on the second-to-last day, and another victory would push Manhattan closer to its third straight MAAC Tournament berth. Mission accomplished. After trailing 5-4 at halftime, the Jaspers (7-7, 5-2 MAAC) outscored Marist (8-5, 5-2 MAAC) 6-1 in the second half to notch a 10-6 victory at Tenney Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win, coupled with Siena's 4-2 victory over Canisius moved the Jaspers into qualifying position for the four-team MAAC Tournament with one game remaining in the regular season. Manhattan will guarantee a return trip to Poughkeepsie for next weekend's MAAC Tournament with a win over the defending MAAC champion Saints (10-4, 7-0 MAAC) on Saturday afternoon in Loudonville. Even with a loss, the Jaspers can clinch a playoff spot if Canisius (5-8, 4-3 MAAC) loses at VMI (2-12, 0-7 MAAC) on Saturday. If Manhattan, Canisius and Marist all finish 5-3 in the MAAC, a coin toss will determine which of the three teams is eliminated. Marist hosts Mount St. Mary's (9-4, 6-1 MAAC) on Saturday night.
Marist scored first at the 11:12 mark of the first quarter, but Tyler Sabens (Falmouth, Mass.) scored the equalizer for the Jaspers three minutes later. The Red Foxes went back in front on a goal by Connor Rice with 3:33 left in the quarter. However, the Jaspers came right back once again, as Sal Perrotto (Garnerville, N.Y.) notched an unassisted tally at the 2:26 mark to tie the game at 2-2 after one period.
The Jaspers took their first lead on a man-up tally by Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.) with 8:47 remaining in the first half, but Marist rallied for the next three goals to take a 5-3 lead. Perrotto notched his second goal of the game with 31 seconds left in the frame to make it a 5-4 game at halftime.
Perrotto's second tally was the first of six straight Manhattan goals, as the Jaspers held Marist scoreless for nearly 32 minutes. The Jaspers scored the only two goals of the third quarter, then rattled off four straight tallies to start the fourth quarter. After James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) found the back of the net to increase Manhattan's lead to 10-5 with 1:21 remaining, Marist finally snapped its scoring drought on Kyle Renny's tally with 38 seconds left. The 10-6 victory was Manhattan's season-high third straight win.
Sabens had his first career five-point day to pace the Manhattan offense. He scored a pair of goals and dished out three assists. Jensen and Synowiez both notched hat tricks, while Perrotto added a pair of goals for the Jaspers. Chace Calkin (Englewood, Colo.) collected a team-high four ground balls and Steve Sternberg (Easton, Conn.) caused three turnovers. In net, Jon Fiorillo (Painted Post, N.Y.) (7-5) made eight saves and surrendered six goals.
Six different Marist players scored a goal, as Bob von Hoffman, who also tallied an assist, was the only Red Fox with a multi-point game. Meanwhile, Corey Zindel, one of the top offensive players in the MAAC, was limited to five shots (three shots on goal) and just one point, an assist. Matt Francis gathered a game-high six ground balls, as Marist held a 28-22 advantage on the ground. Goalkeeper Sam Altiero stopped 11 shots and allowed 10 goals.
Saturday's game, which gets underway at 1 p.m., will be the first meeting between Manhattan and Siena since the Saints beat the Jaspers 9-5 in last season's MAAC Championship Game.
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