Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - Junior Tyler Eidel's hat trick goal with 3:16 to play in the second overtime period propelled the Jaspers to an 8-7 victory over Lafayette on Tuesday night. With the win, Manhattan improves to 3-9 on the season.
Eidel was able to beat the Lafayette defense and fire a shot from the right side of the cage. The junior's attempt soared over Leopards' goalkeeper Jake Hyatt's right shoulder inside top post to give the Jaspers a dramatic overtime win.
"Eidel had the best game of his career tonight; he's starting to play with some confidence and really shot the ball well," said Jaspers head coach Steve Manitta.
Manhattan held a 7-5 lead with 12 minutes to play in the fourth quarter after senior Pat Hodapp scored. The Leopards would net the final two goals of regulation to force the game into overtime.
The Jaspers held a slim lead for much of the game, and it was often by just one goal. Manhattan never trailed or led by more than two goals on the night.
Manhattan improved on its 4-3 halftime lead by scoring the first goal of the third quarter courtesy of senior Ryan Payton. This made the score 5-3 Jaspers. Junior Marcel Godino, who scored one goal in the contest, recorded one of his two assists on the play. Senior Brett Madarasz had the other Manhattan goal on the evening.
Graduate student Brett Johnson was phenomenal at the faceoff X. Johnson won 13-20 (65%) of the draws for Manhattan. "Brett had his best performance of the season. He gave the team some extra possessions we haven't seen in the past to jump up a couple of goals early on," Manitta added.
Defensively, the Jaspers played extremely well. Senior Sean McMahon picked up a game-high eight ground balls and caused two turnovers. Manhattan's man-down unit held Lafayette to just two goals on eight opportunities.
Senior starting goalkeeper Rich Akapnitis made 14 saves in the game and conceded just seven goals. "Rich had a couple of huge clutch saves down the stretch; he made five saves in the fourth quarter when Lafayette had their foot on the gas. He played great when we needed him to," Manitta said.
The game marked the final road game of the regular season for the Jaspers. Manhattan returns to action on Saturday, April 12, when the team hosts the Monmouth Hawks for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) meeting at Gaelic Park. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m.
