RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College men's lacrosse team had its home opener against Robert Morris snowed out, then moved to Brooklyn 10 days ago. The Jaspers had no such worries on Tuesday, as they finally took to the field at Gaelic Park for the first time this season on a beautiful spring day with clear skies and the temperature in the 50s. Unfortunately, Manhattan (1-3) was unable to give its home fans a win, as sixth-ranked Princeton (3-0) got goals from nine different players en route to a 13-8 victory.
Princeton got on the board first when Mike Chanenchuk scored at the 11:43 mark of the first quarter, but Tyler Jarvis (O'Fallon, Mo.) connected with Joe Variano (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) to tie the game less than a minute later. After Chanenchuk scored again at the 9:37 mark, Manhattan evened the score at 2-2 on a man-up tally by Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.). Jensen's goal would be Manhattan's last for the next 26 minutes, as the Tigers rallied for the next six goals of the game to build an 8-2 advantage.
Manhattan finally broke its scoreless streak when Chace Calkin (Englewood, Colo.) won a faceoff, then raced down and took a feed from Variano for his first career goal with 12:53 left in the third quarter, but Princeton scored 13 seconds later to regain its six-goal lead. Jensen's second goal of the contest trimmed Manhattan's deficit to 9-4 before the Tigers notched the final two tallies of the third quarter and took an 11-4 lead into the fourth.
The Tigers got on the board again seven seconds into the fourth quarter before a trio of Manhattan goals once again pulled the Jaspers within five, 12-7, with 4:44 remaining. Forest Sonnenfeldt's goal with 1:38 to go wrapped up Princeton's scoring, then Brett Miranda (Ossining, N.Y.) added a final Manhattan goal, his second of the period, with 56 seconds left.
Jensen, Variano and James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) all had three-point days for the Jaspers. Jensen had a hat trick and also collected three ground balls, while Variano tallied a goal and two assists. Synowiez handed out three assists, as seven of Manhattan's eight goals were assisted. Kyle Moeller (South Setauket, N.Y.) and Chris Spillane (Franklin Square, N.Y.) each posted a team-high four ground balls, and Moeller also caused four turnovers. Matt Solomito (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Jon Fiorillo (Painted Post, N.Y.) split time in goal. Solomito (0-2) played the first half, yielding seven goals and making eight saves. He also corralled three ground balls. Fiorillo gave up six goals and made three saves. Overall, the Jaspers were outshot 40-23 in the game.
For Princeton, Chanenchuk led the way with five goals. Chanenchuk was the only Princeton player with a multi-goal game, as five other Tigers found the back of the net. Rob Engelke didn't score, but did notch two assists. Three goalkeepers saw action for the Tigers. Tyler Fiorito (3-0) got the start and allowed four goals while making eight saves in 49 minutes. Fiorito also grabbed a team-high six ground balls, as Princeton held a 39-30 edge in that category. Christian Blake surrendered three goals and saved one in 9:24 of action, while Yuri Larrabee finished up between the pipes for the Tigers.
The Jaspers are now off until Monday, when they return to action with a 3:30 p.m. matchup at Presbyterian (1-3). Manhattan is back at Gaelic Park on Saturday, March 20, to open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play against MAAC newcomer Detroit (0-3) at 1 p.m.