Newark, Del. (February 24, 2007)?Heading into Saturday afternoon's men's lacrosse contest between Manhattan and the University of Delaware, one side was nationally-ranked and already boasting a 2-0 record, while the other side was unranked and yet to play a game. After the first quarter of play, it was not difficult to figure out that the 2-0 ranked side was the host University of Delaware.
The Blue Hens outscored the Jaspers by a 7-1 first quarter margin to set the tone en route to a 20-5 victory over Manhattan at Delaware's Rullo Stadium, the venue for what is now 11 consecutive Blue Hen victories.
Delaware's Vincent Giordano, who came into the day with four goals from wins over Saint Joseph's University and Lehigh University, was the first on the afternoon to light the lamp, scoring 2:55 into the game.
After second Blue Hen score, Manhattan junior Kevin Dorsey put away the first Jasper goal of the new season, slicing the Delaware lead in half at the 8:36 mark of the first. The Manhattan possession started when freshman Steven Sternberg secured a ground ball in the defensive end to spark a successful Manhattan clear.
Following Dorsey's tally, the Blue Hens forced Manhattan into a 29-minute scoring drought, which saw the Blue Hens find the back of the net 12 straight times before Manhattan senior Brian Murray broke into the scoring column for 2007. After two shots from senior co-captain Chris Oppito went wide, Murray, the Jaspers' leading scorer from a year ago with 17 goals and 16 assists, finally beat Delaware goalie Warren Mayberry.
Murray would complete the hat trick with two more goals sandwiched around a score from sophomore Marc Labelle, which came on a Murray assist. In all, Murray tallied four points with three of his seven shots finding the back of the net.
Delaware, who fired 22 of its 58 total shots in the opening stanza, controlled the ball throughout most of the contest due in part to the face-off dominance of Alex Smith. A 2006 All-American for the Blue Hens, Smith won 27 of 28 attempts.
Manhattan goaltender sophomore John Geagan, who was the 2006 NCAA Statistical Champion in save percentage, played all 60 minutes in net and stopped 18 of Delaware's 38 shots on goal.
Awaiting Manhattan in its next contest is Bellarmine University. The Jaspers will travel to Louisville, Ky. for a March 3 affair, which will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
