RIVERDALE - The Jaspers' season came to an end in the MAAC Championship Game at the hands of the one seed Sacred Heart Pioneers in an 11-5 result. The Jaspers came out of the gates firing with three goals in the first five minutes of action. However, the Pioneers would bounce back in a big way, unleashing a 9-0 run which put the game out of reach for good.
Quinn Bowler came out on fire with two quick goals and was joined on the score sheet by Tyler Mosca to stake out the 3-0 lead for Manhattan. The game then turned in Sacred Heart's favor thanks to the strong play of Tucker Spencer. His first of six goals came at the 9:22 mark of the second quarter which at the time whittled the Jaspers' lead to 4-3.
Manhattan's all-time points leader Kyle Gucwa had put Manhattan up 4-2 when he beat Alex Pazienza with a shot that went top shelf at the 2:22 mark of the first quarter. That ended up being Manhattan's last real cushion of the day before the tide turned the Pioneers' way.
Sacred Heart took a 6-4 lead into halftime after Spencer found twine for the second with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. The Pioneers would go on to outscore the Jaspers 4-0 in the third quarter courtesy of three more goals from Spencer, the last of which came with 43 seconds left on a man-up opportunity for Sacred Heart.
Despite scoring 12 goals against Sacred Heart earlier in the season, Manhattan was hardly able to get anything off cleanly against a stout Sacred Heart defense. The Jaspers finally snapped their 43 minute, 16 second stretch without a goal when Kevin Jaffe beat Pazienza with 4:06 left.
The belief in the Jaspers didn't fade until the final buzzer sounded, given that Manhattan was able to erase a six-goal deficit in their MAAC Quarterfinals match-up with Quinnipiac and eventually beat the Bobcats, 14-13. The Jaspers carried over that momentum with an 8-7 victory over LIU in the semifinals to set up the championship battle on their home turf.
Manhattan was bolstered by a strong home crowd all week who gave their Jaspers a fighting chance against the undefeated Pioneers. While the Jaspers were in search of their third NCAA Tournament appearance, Sacred Heart punched their ticket to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Despite being the one seed, Sacred Heart was not permitted to host this year's MAAC Tournament given their status as an associate member of the MAAC. The Pioneers, along with the Merrimack Warriors, will become full-time MAAC members starting with the upcoming Fall sports season.
Pazienza tallied 15 saves in net for the Pioneers to Hapward's nine saves for the Jaspers. Graduate student James Hogan led Manhattan with six ground balls while winning 10 of 19 face-offs. Gucwa and Bowler led Manhattan with two points each.
In Doug Sage's first season at the helm, Manhattan concludes the season with an 8-9 record overall and an 8-4 mark against MAAC foes.
For the latest on the Manhattan College men's lacrosse program, follow the Jaspers on Twitter @ManhattanMLAX and Instagram @Manhattan_Lacrosse.
