RIVERDALE, NY– The Manhattan Jaspers Women's Lacrosse team opened its season against the UMass Lowell River Hawks and fell by a score of 13-5 at Gaelic Park on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Following the opening goal from the River Hawks, Ava Fernandes logged the first free-position shot from the Jaspers.
- Off a UMass Lowell turnover, Maya Metz attempted a wide-angle shot but was saved by the opposing goalkeeper.
- Five minutes into the second quarter, Olivia Cruthers sent a blast beyond the reach of the River Hawks' Kuhn.
- In the 90 seconds of the second half, Cruthers logged her second free-position goal of the game for Manhattan to cut its deficit even further.
- Just 40 seconds into the second half, Emily Fiola found Cruthers for her third strike of the game.
- Ashley Bonitch got on the board on a perfect pass from Cruthers to narrow the Jaspers' deficit again in the game's third quarter.
- Maya Metz set up Cruthers for her fourth goal of the game to cut the River Hawks' lead in half at the end of the third quarter.
STATS AND NOTES
- Senior attack Olivia Cruthers logged four goals in a single game for the second time in her career. Additionally, Cruthers added 10 shots with five on target. The last time the Amityville, NY native logged four or more goals was against the La Salle Explorers in a 13-12 victory on February 24, 2024.
- Senior midfielder Ashley Bonitch added one goal on three shots.
- Senior midfielder Emily Fiola and junior attack Maya Metz collected a pair of helpers for the Jaspers.
- Redshirt sophomore defenseman Julia Harvey caused a pair of turnovers and collected a pair of groundballs.
- Junior goalkeeper Danielle Serbinski logged 10 saves and faced 31 shots in the loss.
- Manhattan collected 18 groundballs as a team compared to UMass Lowell's 15.
- The Jaspers were 2-for-5 on free-position shots.
- In the final stanza, the Jaspers logged the first six of seven shots to open the fourth quarter.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Head Coach Jenna Dingler: "This game was a good learning experience for our team. We had some strong moments and other moments that we will learn from. UMass Lowell is a great team, and we want to challenge our players to emulate the level of play that we will see in conference."
NEXT UP:
Manhattan continues its 2025 home campaign on Friday, February 14, when the Jaspers play host to the Pride of Hofstra University at Gaelic Park for a 1 p.m. opening faceoff. The contest can be viewed on the Jaspers Sports Network by logging onto GoJaspers.com.
