Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Playing in his final home game in a Manhattan uniform, senior James Synowiez (Owego, N.Y.) made certain that his last appearance at Gaelic Park would be a memorable one. Synowiez scored a school-record seven goals on Saturday afternoon, leading the Manhattan College men's lacrosse team (6-7, 4-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) to a 14-8 Senior Day victory over Saint Joseph's (2-12, 2-5 MAAC). The seven goals tied a school mark originally set by Justin Otto in a 15-10 win over Providence on April 19, 2002.
Synowiez notched his first goal, a man-up tally, just 3:42 into the contest, and fellow senior Joe Variano (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) added a goal of his own 54 seconds later. Synowiez scored again off a feed from Sal Perrotto (Garnerville, N.Y.) at the 6:59 mark, prompting a Saint Joseph's timeout. The Hawks scored the next two goals to make it a 3-2 game before Synowiez tallied his third goal of the quarter with 1:29 left in the frame to give Manhattan a 4-2 lead after one.
The Hawks again cut their deficit to one on Steve Dunn's goal early in the second quarter, but Synowiez scored twice in 12 seconds midway through the period to bring the Jaspers' lead back to three at 6-3. Saint Joseph's once again rallied back, trimming their deficit to 6-5 on goals by Artie Marrapese and Sean Evans. However, Synowiez was the star of the day, and he recorded his sixth goal of the half with four seconds remaining, extending the Jaspers' advantage to 7-5 at the break.
The third quarter was scoreless for almost 10 minutes before Evans notched his second goal of the game, trimming the Hawks' deficit to 7-6. Just as he did each of the previous two times Saint Joseph's got within one, Synowiez once again found the back of the net. This time, he took a feed from Variano with 2:21 left in the quarter to complete his record-setting scoring output. It was Synowiez's last goal of the game, but the rest of the Manhattan offense came alive from that point on, outscoring Saint Joseph's 7-2 over the final 17:21.
Kelly Mahon (Spring Lake, N.J.) scored less than a minute after Synowiez's seventh goal to push Manhattan's lead back to three, 9-6. After the Hawks won the ensuing faceoff, Scott Cullinan raced down and fed Geoff DeSoye, who found the back of the net just 15 seconds later. It took a mere nine seconds for the Jaspers to respond, as Manhattan won the faceoff, then Kyle Ochwat (Farmingdale, N.Y.) connected with Mahon, making it a 10-7 game after three quarters.
It was all Manhattan in the fourth quarter, as the Jaspers outscored the Hawks 4-1 in the final frame. Variano got the rally started with an unassisted tally at the 14:43 mark, then, after Saint Joseph's got back on the board, Mahon completed a hat trick with a man-up tally at the 7:06 mark. Mike Llewellyn (Brookhaven, N.Y.) and Justin Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.) added late goals to wrap up a 14-8 Manhattan victory.
Synowiez led six Jaspers with multi-point games. Mahon posted his second hat trick of the season, while Variano finished with five points (two goals, three assists). Perrotto handed out three assists, and Ochwat, another senior playing in his final home game, had his first career two-point game with a pair of assists. Jensen notched a goal and an assist. Chace Calkin (Englewood, Colo.) collected a game-high seven ground balls, as the Jaspers held a 45-35 advantage on the ground. Ochwat and Jon Fiorillo (Painted Post, N.Y.) each corralled five ground balls. Fiorillo (6-4) was solid between the pipes, making 15 saves while giving up eight goals.
Evans and Marrapese both scored two goals for the Hawks. DeSoye also had a two-point outing, notching a goal and an assist. Griffin Ferrigan (2-9) collected a team-high five ground balls and made 14 saves in net.
Prior to the game, Manhattan honored its 11 seniors. Ochwat, Perrotto, Synowiez, Variano, Daniel Buser (Clifton Park, N.Y.), Max Cabasso (Allenhurst, N.J.), Luke Dilillo (Lexington, Mass.), Bobby Morris (East Meadow, N.Y.), Salvatore Spatarella (Rocky Point, N.Y.), Steve Sternberg (Easton, Conn.) and John Washburn (Loudonville, N.Y.) were recognized for their years of service to the Manhattan men's lacrosse program.
The Jaspers conclude the regular season with a pair of road games against teams that are currently ahead of them in the MAAC standings. Manhattan visits Marist (8-4, 5-1 MAAC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, then ends the regular season at defending MAAC champion Siena (9-4, 6-0 MAAC) next Saturday at 1 p.m. In 2009, the Jaspers knocked off Marist in Poughkeepsie on the season's final day to clinch a spot in the MAAC Tournament.
Due to technical difficulties, the live webcast of the game was unavailabe. The Manhattan Athletic Department apologizes for the inconvenience.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter, go to twitter.com/GoJaspers and on Facebook.com search "Manhattan Jaspers."
