Riverdale, N.Y. (April 29, 2006)-Manhattan Men's Lacrosse just missed out on its third consecutive MAAC Tournament appearance, but it certainly was not because of the way the team closed out the season. The Jaspers completed a three-game winning streak and a perfect 2006 home record with a 12-7 victory over Virginia Military Institute on Family/Senior Day at Gaelic Park. With the win, Manhattan ends the season at 6-7 overall and 4-4 in MAAC play.
With a little more than a minute remaining in the game, and the careers of Manhattan's seniors, the Jaspers were holding a five-goal lead over VMI, and it was the ideal time for Manhattan to put an exclamation point on the imminent victory. In what was arguably the most impressive 10-second span of the game, which did not lack big plays in the slightest, senior defense Pat Farrelly stepped up and emphatically capped of the victory with a remarkable defensive effort. Playing down a man, Farrelly jarred the ball loose from the stick of VMI's Joe Picariello and smoothly picked up the groundball. Then, the senior defenseman found fellow senior Greg Lewis streaking upfield. Lewis took a few steps and buried the ball into the back of the net for Manhattan's twelfth score of the day and the 60th of his career, which ranks Lewis seventh all-time for career goals in program history.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Lewis played a large part in fattening Manhattan's cushion. After VMI's Tony Cavalero opened the scoring in the period with an unassisted goal to cut the Jasper advantage to 7-6, Lewis hooked up with freshman Angelo Marrano who put it past VMI goalie John Collier with 9:50 remaining in regulation. Exactly 25 seconds later, the freshman and senior would connect again to make it a 9-6 Jasper lead, this time with Lewis on the scoring end.
The game was a back-and-forth type of affair in the first half, as there were four ties and five lead changes. Picariello opened the game's scoring six minutes into the contest as he beat Manhattan goalie John Geagan on a man-up opportunity. Jasper junior Chris Oppito answered back to knot the game at one apiece seven minutes later. That pattern of a VMI goal and a Manhattan answer would repeat itself three more times in the opening half.
With the score tied at four, Oppito put an end to that pattern as he scored off of a pass from freshman Marc Labelle to complete a hat trick with 2:56 still remaining before half-time. Junior Brian Murray would also record a hat trick for the Jaspers, while Lewis and Angelo Marrano both scored twice. Christian Schaefers and Frank Piccola were responsible for the other Manhattan tallies.
Seniors Michael Caba and Kevin Blake earned a start on senior day, along with fellow seniors and team captains Nick and Sean Crowley. Nick Crowley assisted on Murray's first goal on the game, which tied the score at four in the second quarter.