FAIRFIELD, CT– The Manhattan Jaspers Women's Lacrosse team (1-8, 0-1 MAAC) fell to the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University (3-5, 1-0 MAAC) by a score of 13-9 on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Jaspers started off on the right foot. They logged the first two goals of the game, with Olivia Cruthers finding Juliana Mahan to open the game.
- This was followed by Cruthers finding Ashley Bonitch to give the Green and White a two-goal advantage over the Pioneers.
- After falling behind to Sacred Heart in the waning seconds of the second quarter, a turnover by the Pioneers led to Maya Metz finding Lauren Maher, cutting Sacred Heart's lead in half and giving Manhattan its third goal of the contest.
- Trailing by as much as six, the Jaspers cut the Pioneer's lead to five, with Julia Kerr finding the back of the net five minutes into the third quarter.
- The Jaspers would find their rhythm in the fourth quarter, with Brooke Leonard finding Emily Derrico on the man advantage.
- Manhattan further cut its deficit against the Pioneers with a free-position goal by Emily Fiola midway through the fourth.
- In the game's final five minutes, the Jaspers logged three goals from Kerr, Ava Fernandez, and Mahan on a free-position attempt, but it was not enough.
STATS AND NOTES
- Julia Kerr tied a team-high in goals with two on the afternoon in as many shots on target. Also, Kerr scooped one ground ball and added one draw control to her ledger.
- Freshman Juliana Mahan logged two goals on the day on four total shots, with three on target. Mahan was one of two on free-position shots.
- Danielle Serbinski logged 13 saves on the afternoon and faced 33 total Pioneer shots.
- Ashley Bonitch recorded one goal on five shots. Three of which were on target.
- Emily Fiola added a goal midway through the fourth quarter on four total shots. Fiola picked up two ground balls and one draw control.
- Lauren Maher scored once on one shot and picked up one ground ball.
- Emily Derrico registered one goal on as many shots on the day.
- Olivia Cruthers added two assists and three shots on the afternoon. The senior added one ground ball on the day.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Head Coach Jenna Dingler: "While this wasn't the outcome we wanted, there are a ton of lessons to take away from our first MAAC appearance. There is depth in this team, and I know we will take the good from this experience and apply it to our next matchup against Merrimack."
NEXT UP:
Manhattan is back in action on its home turf next Saturday, March 29, when the Jaspers play host to the Warriors of Merrimack College for a 2 p.m. start inside Gaelic Park. The contest can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
