RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan men's lacrosse team opens the home portion of the schedule on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against the Highlanders of NJIT.
The Jaspers are coming off a strong showing in a 14-9 loss at No. 4/3 Princeton on Tuesday. Manhattan led 3-0 in the first quarter and 5-4 at the half before the Tigers scored eight in the third to take the lead for good.
Sean Shelko scored twice for the Jaspers—the first two of his career.
Kyle Gucwa had three assists, and
Joseph Persico made 17 stops in goal.
Manhattan is 6-0 all-time against NJIT. The last two meetings, in 2019 and 2020, were one-goal affairs. Saturday will be the fourth time NJIT visits Riverdale.
NJIT is 0-3 on the season with losses to Siena, Mount St. Mary's, and Monmouth. Owen Curry and Arthur Miller have eight points to pace the Highlander attack. Miller has tallied seven goals to lead the team, while Curry leads the team with three assists. Liam Brown has played every minute in goal for NJIT. The senior has tallied 39 saves and posted a 0.557 save percentage on the season. NJIT ranks 12th in Division I in man-down defense, their highest ranking in any team statistic.
Persico has made an impact for the Jaspers in his first three collegiate starts. The graduate student leads the MAAC in save percentage (.688), saves per game (17.67), and goals against average (8.00). Nationally, Persico ranks third in saves per game, fourth in save percentage, and ninth in goals against average. As a defensive unit, the Japers are ninth in Division I and lead the MAAC in scoring defense (8.00).
Gucwa sits second in the MAAC in assists per game (2.0),
Liam McDonough is fifth in ground balls per game (5.67), and
Michael Schafer is eighth in caused turnovers per game (1.33).
For the latest on the Manhattan College men's lacrosse program, follow the Jaspers on Twitter @ManhattanMLAX and Instagram @Manhattan_Lacrosse.
