RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan women's lacrosse team held the two-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Champions scoreless for the first 12 minutes of the game but couldn't hold the momentum, falling 16-4 to Canisius on Saturday evening. The loss was the fourth in a row for the Jaspers (3-9, 0-3 MAAC) while the Golden Griffins (8-4, 2-1 MAAC) picked up their second straight win.
Manhattan's defense held strong to open the game, facing an explosive Canisius attack. After keeping the Griffs off the board for more than 12 minutes, Lindsey Morgan finally broke through with a goal at the 17:41 mark of the first half. That opened things up as Canisius would score the first four goals of the contest with tallies from Morgan Leonard, Meghan McGunigle and Tori Quinn.
The Jaspers finally got on the board with under 11 minutes to play in the half when Donna Jo DiNorcia got an unassisted score. However, the Golden Griffins reeled off five consecutive goals in a span of four minutes to take a 9-1 lead. Domenica O'Brey and Carly Eskenazi each found the back of the net, sandwiching a Tori Greco score for Canisius. Morgan Leonard then added her third goal of the half with just 19 seconds remaining to take an 11-3 advantage into the break.
Coming out of the locker room, the Griffs scored twice in the first four minutes to go up double digits, forcing a running clock. They did not look back, holding possession throughout and outscoring Manhattan 5-1 in the second frame. The Jaspers' lone goal came when Maria Toscano converted on a free position chance with 11:35 remaining in regulation becoming the fourth different player to score for Manhattan.
A first half barrage of 23 shots set the tone for Canisius, who outshot the Jaspers 32-15 for the game. They were also able to control the tempo by forcing 16 turnovers, winning 13 of 22 draw controls and keeping Manhattan to just 10-15 on clear attempts. Both Leonard (4 goals, 3 assists) and Quinn (2 goals, 5 assists) had seven points on the day to lead all players while Meghan Cuddy had four goals to tie her teammate for the game high.
Sophomore Christina Fiorinelli made eight saves in the game for Manhattan and picked up two ground balls. Cansisius' Kayla Scully made three saves, allowing three goals, in just under 47 minutes of play. Claudia Coleates played the final 13-plus minutes allowing one goal and making five saves.
The Jaspers are next in action when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Wed., April 10 for a 4 p.m. game with Marist.