Manhattan University Athletics

Box Score 

RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Angelo Marrano (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), one of two seniors on the squad, was 30 seconds away from writing the perfect ending to the Manhattan College men's lacrosse team's Senior Day script on Saturday afternoon.  However, defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champion Canisius had other ideas.  Marrano's goal with 30 seconds remaining gave Manhattan (7-7, 3-3 MAAC) an 11-10 lead, but Canisius (4-7, 3-4 MAAC) got a goal from Adam Jones at the buzzer to send it to overtime, then Travis Gibbons scored 1:39 into the extra session to give the Griffs a 12-11 victory at Gaelic Park.

The final minute of regulation time was a furious flurry of action, as three goals were scored in the final 53 seconds of the fourth quarter.  After Manhattan led 10-9 for most of the period, it looked like the game was going into overtime after Jones notched an unassisted tally to tie it at 10-10 with 53 seconds on the clock.  Marrano won the ensuing faceoff and raced down the field, finding the back of the net with 30 seconds remaining to give the Jaspers the lead.  It then looked like Manhattan would walk away with a victory, but Canisius won the faceoff and immediately called timeout.  The Griffs held for a final shot, and Jones got one past John Geagan (Seaford, N.Y.) as the buzzer sounded, sending the contest to overtime.

Canisius controlled play for most of the extra period, and the game ended at the 2:21 mark of overtime when Jones found Gibbons on the left wing and he fired one past Geagan to give Canisius the come-from-behind victory.

Early on, it was a game of runs.  Manhattan jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.), Brett Miranda (Ossining, N.Y.) and Kelly Mahon (Spring Lake, N.J.) before Canisius responded with a pair of goals to make it 3-2 in favor of the Jaspers after one quarter.  The Griffs scored the first two goals of the second quarter to take a 4-3 lead, but Sal Perrotto (Garnerville, N.Y.) tied the game with a goal at the 6:43 mark.  After Canisius went back in front on a man-up goal, Marrano connected with James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) for a man-down tally 13 seconds later.  Canisius again regained the lead, but the Jaspers again notched the equalizer when Jensen scored with 1:35 remaining in the first half.  The game was tied 6-6 after 30 minutes.

The back-and-forth action continued in the second half.  Manhattan took a 7-6 lead on an unassisted goal by Synowiez at the 11:34 mark of the third quarter, but Canisius tied it less than a minute later.  The Jaspers got goals from Salvatore Spatarella (Rocky Point, N.Y.) and Synowiez to build the first two-goal advantage since Manhattan notched the first three tallies of the game before John Minieri scored for Canisius late in the period to make it 9-8 Manhattan after three.  The Griffs tied it  on a goal by Todd Benzinger 1:42 into the fourth quarter, but Joe Variano (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) broke the tie with a man-up tally with 8:59 remaining in regulation.  Manhattan held that 10-9 lead until the late flurry of action.

Synowiez had three goals for the Jaspers to bring his season total to 35.  Synowiez also had an assist.  Jensen added two goals, while Perrotto recorded a goal and two assists.  Marrano collected a game-high 11 ground balls, as the Jaspers held a 44-42 advantage on the ground.  Geagan (5-7) took the loss after stopping four Canisius shots.

Jones finished with five points (three goals, two assists) for Canisius, while Minieri also tallied a hat trick.  Nick LoCoco had three assists, and Simon Giourmetakis scored a goal to go along with two assists.  Tom Rowley corralled nine ground balls, and Matt Barkas added seven ground balls.  Bryan Jack (4-7) faced 33 Manhattan shots and made 10 saves.