RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Facing one of the top teams in the conference, the Manhattan men's lacrosse team kept it close early but gave up 12 goals through the second and third quarters in falling 20-6 at Siena Saturday afternoon.
Playing their last Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference road contest this season, the Jaspers (3-11, 2-2 MAAC) trailed the Saints (9-3, 3-1) 3-2 after the opening quarter but were outscored 12-2 in the second and third to drop their second-straight league contest after starting play 2-0.
For Manhattan, six different players recorded a goal in the game; with senior captain Justin Jensen picking up his team-leading 18th goal and junior midfielder Brendan Rogers adding a score and an assist. Leading the way for Siena, attackers Bryan Neufeld and Danny Martinsen each collected three goals and an assist on the day.
Opening the game with the lead, the Jaspers went ahead 1-0 after Jensen scored on an unassisted tally at the 9:02 mark of the first period. Siena answered one minute later, when Collin Parkhurst found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-all.
Continuing the back-and-forth play, Manhattan redshirt freshman attacker Brian McGrath put the Jaspers back on top when he scored on a pass from sophomore midfielder Jon Crean to make it 2-1 with 7:47 remaining.
However, it would be the last lead Manhattan held through the game. Using a lightning-quick attack, Siena struck for two-straight goals at 6:46 and 1:49 of the first period to take a 3-2 lead after 15 minutes of action. In the second quarter, the Saints tallied three consecutive goals to jump ahead 6-2 with 9:12 left in the half. In total, the Loudonville, N.Y.-based school would record six of the seven tallies to take a convincing 9-3 advantage into the break.
Showing why they are the team to beat in the MAAC, the Saints added 11 goals in the final two quarters while giviing up just three to take the contest and improve to 3-1 against conference opponents.
In the cage, goalkeeper Tom Morr made 14 saves to pick up the victory. For Manhattan, freshman Rich Akapnitis recorded six saves in the loss.
Overall, Siena held advantages in shots (41-35), ground balls (39-28), face-offs (19-10) and extra-man opportunities (4-0).
Manhattan looks to regain their winning form next Saturday, when they welcome Marist to Gaelic Park for a crucial 1 p.m. showdown.
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