Box Score
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - In a hard fought battle with Rutgers, the Jaspers dropped their season opener 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon.
With the score 4-3 Rutgers and the latter stages of the second half approaching, the Scarlet Knights pulled away with 12:56 to go courtesy of a free position goal by Lauren Sbrilli. Just over three minutes later, Jenny Vlahos scored her second of the game to make it 6-3 Rutgers, a score that held up the rest of the way.
It was a closely contested game the whole way through with Rutgers leading by a single goal for a majority of play. After falling into a 2-0 deficit, Stefanie Ranagan scored the first Manhattan goal of the game off an assist by Donna Jo DiNorcia to make it 2-1 Rutgers. Ten minutes later, Kaitlyn Cunningham followed with her first of two goals in the game to tie the score at two in the waning stages of the first half. Rutgers would score one more goal near the end of the first half to take a 3-2 lead into the break.
Katrina Martinelli kicked off the scoring in the second frame with her second goal of the game coming six and a half minutes in. Cunningham kept the score close by notching her second tally just over two minutes later to bring it back to a one goal game at 4-3, but that is as close as Manhattan would get.
Kaitlyn Cunningham took a team-high five shots in the game and also found herself tied for the team lead in ground balls after collecting two. Megan Yarusso, Caitlin Hynes and Casey Silvestri also gathered two ground balls apiece. Junior goalkeeper Christina Fiorinelli recorded five saves on the afternoon.
The Jaspers return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 26, when they play the Albany Great Danes at Gaelic Park at 3 p.m.
