Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's lacrosse team took a 2-0 advantage into the second quarter but were outscored 11-4 the rest of the way in an 11-6 defeat to Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon.
On a beautiful day at Gaelic Park, the Jaspers (0-7) came out of the gates ready to play but cooled off mid-way through the third quarter, allowing the Pioneers (3-2) to take control late.
A game of conversions, Manhattan held the advantage over Sacred Heart in shots (43-28), but was 0-7 in extra-man opportunities while the Pioneers were 2-5.
Opening the game with the first two scores, Manhattan took the first lead when freshman attacker Marcel Godino beat Pioneers' goalkeeper Zach Frank to make it 1-0 Jaspers at the 12:47 mark of the period. Building on their lead, senior attacker Justin Jensen finished on a pass from freshman attacker Paul Grubb to give Manhattan a 2-0 advantage with 4:58 left in the first.
Waking up in the second quarter, the Pioneers' responded with five-straight goals in a 10-minute span, including two from attacker Mike Mawdlsey, to take a 5-2 lead with 3:08 left in the first half. Manhattan would get one back at the 1:45 mark when Jensen added his second score to cut the deficit to 5-3 at the break.
Scoring out of intermission, the Jaspers would make it 5-4 Sacred Heart after sophomore attacker Jon Crean an unassisted tally at the 12:55 mark of the third. The Pioneers quickly countered with the next two goals to expand their lead to 7-4 at 7:03 of the period before Manhattan would make one more run.
Ending the third with an upswing of momentum the Jaspers would get goals from Kelly Mahon and Brett Miranda to trim the Pioneers' lead to 7-6 heading into the final quarter. However, the fourth would belong to Sacred Heart as they would pad their lead with four consecutive goals to record the 11-6 victory.
In the Cage, Frank recorded 12 saves the pick up the victory. For Manhattan, freshman Rich Akapnitis made seven saves in the defeat.
The Jaspers will return to action Wednesday, when they travel to Staten Island, N.Y. to battle Wagner College. Opening face-off is set for 3:30 p.m.
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