EMMITSBURG, Md. - The Manhattan College men's lacrosse team entered Saturday afternoon's game at first-place Mount St. Mary's looking to snap a two-game losing streak. And the Jaspers nearly got the win they were looking for. Manhattan (4-7, 2-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) scored four of the game's final five goals to overcome an early 4-0 deficit, but in the end, the Jaspers came up just short, dropping a 5-4 decision to the Mountaineers (7-3, 4-0 MAAC) at Waldron Family Stadium.
Mount St. Mary's jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first quarter goals by Mark Stapor and Andrew Scalley. Scalley scored again 14 seconds into the second quarter, then Bryant Schmidt found the back of the net to give the Mountaineers a 4-0 advantage with 9:55 remaining in the half. Mount St. Mary's held on to its 4-0 lead until the 1:06 mark, when Salvatore Spatarella (Rocky Point, N.Y.) finally got Manhattan on the board. The Jaspers trimmed their deficit to 4-2 when Jordan Sherman (Ravena, N.Y.) connected with James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) with 16 seconds to go before halftime.
Schmidt pushed the Mountaineers' advantage back to three goals with his tally at the 11:36 mark of the third quarter, but the Jaspers immediately responded. Chace Calkin (Englewood, Colo.) won the ensuing faceoff, then Max Cabasso (Allenhurst, N.J.) collected the ground ball and fed Kelly Mahon (Spring Lake, N.J.), who found the back of the net just 13 seconds after the Mount St. Mary's goal to pull Manhattan within 5-3. Spatarella notched his second goal of the game, a man-up tally assisted by Sal Perrotto (Garnerville, N.Y.), to make it a 5-4 contest after three quarters.
Content to protect its lead, Mount St. Mary's didn't record an official shot on goal in the fourth quarter. After taking timeout with 4:06 remaining, the Mountaineers held the ball for over two minutes before Scalley finally fired a shot, which went wide. The Jaspers took possession after the shot, and had a chance to tie the game when Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.) had a wide open look from the top of the crease. However, T.C. DiBartolo, last season's First Team All-MAAC goalkeeper, made the save to keep Mount St. Mary's in front. Manhattan regained possession and took timeout with 24 seconds remaining, but the Jaspers were unable to get another shot off and fell, 5-4.
Spatarella was the only Manhattan player to notch more than one point in the game, as the Jaspers were held to just 16 shots on goal. Manhattan also corralled 16 ground balls, led by three from Kyle Ochwat (Farmingdale, N.Y.). Ochwat and Steve Sternberg (Easton, Conn.) each caused two turnovers. Jon Fiorillo (Painted Post, N.Y.) (4-4) took the loss after giving up five goals and making nine saves.
Schmidt and Scalley both tallied two goals for the Mountaineers, while Scalley also had an assist. Cody Lehrer, the NCAA leader in goals, was held scoreless and limited to just one shot on goal by the Manhattan defense. Ben Trapp won 10 faceoffs and collected a game-high nine ground balls, as Mount St. Mary's held a 25-16 advantage on the ground. Justin Schmidt recorded four ground balls for the Mountaineers. DiBartolo recorded 10 saves in net and allowed just four goals.
Manhattan plays its next two games at Gaelic Park, starting with a 4 p.m. contest against Wagner (0-10, 0-4 MAAC) on Wednesday.
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