Box Score
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. ? Four goals by James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) were not enough for the Manhattan College men's lacrosse team on Friday afternoon, as the Jaspers (0-2) fell 11-8 to Robert Morris (3-1) in the rain at Joe Walton Stadium.
Synowiez scored his first goal off a feed from Salvatore Spatarella (Rocky Point, N.Y.) 1:22 into the game before the Colonials tied it midway through the first quarter. Joe Variano's (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) goal put Manhattan back in front, but Robert Morris responded with three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead. The Colonials scored again early in the second quarter to build a 5-2 advantage.
Synowiez registered his second tally of the game at the 5:32 mark, then added a man-up goal 40 seconds later to pull the Jaspers within one at 5-4. After Chris Kaiser (Chesterfield, Mo.) was sent off for an illegal body check with 1:30 left in the first half, Spatarella scored a man-down tally to send the teams into the locker room tied at 5-5.
Robert Morris scored four goals in the third quarter to go up 9-6, then increased its lead to 10-6 when Corbyn TaoBrambleby scored at the 11:30 mark of the fourth quarter. Manhattan got one back when Synowiez fed Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.), but Trevor Moore scored two minutes later to put the Colonials' advantage back at four goals, 11-7. The Jaspers fired 14 shots in the final period, but weren't able to find the back of the net until Jensen scored again with 49 seconds remaining.
Synowiez added an assist to finish with a game-high five points. Jensen scored twice for his second straight multi-goal game and recorded an assist, as well. Spatarella and Variano each had a goal and an assist for the Jaspers. Angelo Marrano (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) went 7-for-9 on faceoffs and gathered a team-high five ground balls, while Kyle Ochwat (Farmingdale, N.Y.) scooped up four ground balls and caused five turnovers. John Geagan (Seaford, N.Y.) made 15 saves in goal.
Moore had two goals and two assists to lead four Colonials with multi-point afternoons. Patrick Smith, Dan Kerch and TaoBrambleby added two goals apiece for Robert Morris. Kyle Buchanan collected five ground balls, as the Colonials had a 28-23 advantage in ground balls. Sal Barcia made 11 saves, including six in the fourth quarter, to earn the win.
The Jaspers return to the field at Joe Walton Stadium on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. matchup with Detroit (0-2), which is in its first season as a Division I program.
