Manhattan University Athletics

WEST ISLIP, N.Y. – Manhattan men's lacrosse came out victorious 9-5 over St. John's in their first campaign of the 2023 season. It was also the first win for first-year head coach John Odierna.
 
"This has been building over the years. We must be able to fall back on our culture. I thought there were some in-between plays today, and we manufactured positive outcomes on 50-50 plays," said Odierna. "We did a good job early on of coming out and controlling what we could and letting the game dictate after that."
 
"Excited to get that one behind us. Every guy came up to me and congratulated me. I couldn't be more excited for the team about the team," added Odierna after his first win as Manhattan's head coach.  
 
In what served to be an action-packed first quarter, scoring kicked off with 13:01 remaining when Connor Kalmus put one in the net, giving St. John's (0-1) a 1-0 lead. Tadhg O'Riordan answered for the Jaspers with 9:47 remaining to knot the game at 1-1. From there, it only took the Red Storm 44 seconds to retake the lead as Kalmus scored another, this time assisted by Caiden Vlasmsky.
 
From there, it was all Jaspers. Kyle Gucwa and Liam Walshe scored a combined four goals in the last 7:41 of the first quarter, making the score 5-2 Manhattan, a lead the Jaspers would never look back on.
 
In the second quarter, the Manhattan's (1-0) dynamic scoring duo combined for three more goals, while Brian Kelly scored for St. John's, putting the score at 8-4 Manhattan at the half.
 
The second half featured only two goals, one coming from transfer Dan MacKinney, with 10:13 remaining in the third quarter for the Jaspers, while the final goal was scored by St. John's' Luke Mangan with 3:21 remaining in the fourth, ending the score at 9-5.
 
Gucwa led Manhattan with five points, including four goals, and Walshe, tallied three goals for the Jaspers. Additionally, Quinn Bowler compiled two assists for the Jaspers.
 
A couple of first-year Jaspers had memorable debuts, significantly affecting the game. Goalkeeper Joseph Persico saved 14-of-19 shots on goal attempted by the Red Storm, including only one goal allowed in the second half. Liam McDonough made his mark at the x, winning 12-of-15 faceoffs, an area the Jaspers are looking to improve in 2023.
 
Leading the effort for St. John's was Kalmus, who scored three first-half goals, keeping the Red Storm in the game. Additionally, Brian Kelly was able to compile a goal and an assist for the Red Storm.

For the latest on the Manhattan College men's lacrosse program, follow the Jaspers on Twitter @ManhattanMLAX and Instagram @Manhattan_Lacrosse.