Siena?s Late Goals Too Much For Manhattan

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Coming off their first conference opening win in nearly a decade, the Jaspers men's soccer team looked to begin Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play 2-0 as they traveled to Siena. Unfortunately for Manhattan (1-8-1, 1-1 MAAC), two late second half goals by the Saints proved to be too much as they dropped a 3-1 decision on the road Sunday afternoon.

In a game that was statistically dominated by Siena (6-5, 2-0 MAAC), the first half played out even between the two. The Saints would strike first in the 22^nd minute as Sindre Ek crossed a ball to the foot of James Beeston who blasted one on net. George Ellis was able to make the initial save but Daniel Alderstad was able to put in the rebound for the early lead.

A mere four minutes later, the game would be knotted back up as Tommy Amos was able to fire a loose ball into the back of the net from 30 yards out for his third goal of the season. Both squads would trade scoring chances, as well as physical plays, but went into the locker room deadlocked.

After the break, Siena would turn up the aggressive play on offense as they took a total of 14 shots in the second frame. The Jaspers would hold off the attacks while getting quality opportunities of their own but the Saints proved to be too much.

Alderstad would add his second point of the day in the 73^rd minute as he centered a ball for Nathan Olukanmi from the left side. Olukanmi then made a move left and beat Ellis to break the tie and give his squad a 2-1 advantage.

Manhattan would have multiple chances to tie things up again as Eugene Heerschap had a shot blocked in front before Alex Shackley missed a header high over the crossbar.

In the 85^th minute, Nills Weddig found Ek who converted from 15 yards out pushing the game out of reach. The Jaspers tried to get within one quickly but a Carlo Giachino shot hit the crossbar and Siena held off any other attempts for the 3-1 victory.

Ellis finished the day making three saves while the Saints' Damian Liesemann was forced to only make one stop in net. A game that saw each team be called for 15 fouls a piece, also saw multiple cards issued. Both the Jaspers' Amos and Siena's Ek and Falko Friedrichs were issued yellow cards while Manhattan's C.J. Dragovich was given a red card in the 81^st minute.

Following nine straight road games, Manhattan finally returns home for their next two contests. On Fri. Oct., 12 they will host Iona at 7 p.m. before playing Fairfield at 11 a.m. on Sun. Oct., 14 at Gaelic Park.