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RIVERDALE, N.Y. - On Senior Day it was only fitting that Aislinn McIlvenny's (Pleasant Valley, N.Y. / Arlington) league-leading fifth game-winning goal lifted Manhattan to a 1-0 win over Quinnipiac in a key Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match.
McIlvenny's goal set the tone for a second half that saw the Jaspers outshoot the Bobcats by an overwhelming 9-2 margin.
With the win, Manhattan improves to 7-7-2 and 2-4-2 in the league while Quinnipiac falls to 2-12-1 and 1-6-1 in the MAAC.
Junior Kristen Skonieczny (Lagrangeville, N.Y. / Arlington) was stellar in goal, making two saves in recording her fourth shutout of the season.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams struggle to get acclimated to a heavy rainfall. Quinnipiac almost struck first as Kelly Caruso's shot hit the cross bar in the 25th minute.
After halftime, Manhattan struck for the game's lone goal thanks to McIlvenny. In the 49th minute the senior forward fired a shot that Natalia Grodzki deflected, and off the rebound McIlvenny slotted the ball off of Grodzki and into the back of the net for her team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Later in the half, McIlvenny appeared poised to again dent the scoreboard only to be denied by a fantastic save by Grodzki. The Bobcat goalie played an outstanding second half en route to recording six saves for the game.
The Jaspers outshot Quinnipiac by an 11-4 margin while posting a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Prior to the match, McIlvenny, Kaelyn Angelo (Sr., Oak Ridge, Tenn. / Oak Ridge), Shannon Garrity (Sr., Massapequa Park, N.Y. / Massapequa) and Daniella Morgante (Sr. Amawalk, N.Y. / Somers) were all honored in a pregame ceremony at midfield for their service to the program.
Manhattan now sits in eighth place in the MAAC with eight points and will have a crucial match at Canisius on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. A win would pull the Jaspers to within one point of the Golden Griffins and Siena with one match to play in the race for the final two MAAC playoff spots.
