Box Score
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's soccer team dropped its final Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season contest to Canisius, 3-1, at the Demske Sports Complex on Saturday night.
With the loss, Manhattan concludes its regular season at 3-10-2, including a 3-6-1 mark against conference opponents. Canisius finishes at 8-8-1 overall, and 5-5 in MAAC play.
The Golden Griffins struck in the 19th minute, when senior Alex De Carolis received a cross from the right side and blasted a half volley from the left side of the box that found goal. Canisius' lead would prove to be short lived, as the Jaspers responded immediately.
36 seconds later, Manhattan leveled the score, when junior Brian DeLaurentis (Kensington, Md. / St. John's College) recorded his first goal of the season. Sophomore Ajani Phillips (South River, N.J. / Saint Peter's Prep.) provided the service with a beautiful cross from the left, allowing DeLaurentis to get on the end of it and finish from the right side.
The game remained tied at one until Canisius broke the deadlock in the 66th minute. Sophomore Melvin Blair advanced forward on a run, and the ball bounced to him as he finished to make the score 2-1 Golden Griffs.
In the 79th minute, Canisius put the game out of reach, as Blair completed his brace to make the score 3-1. The sophomore made a 20-yard run and chipped Manhattan freshman goalkpeeper R.J. Noll (Yelm, Wash. / Yelm) with a delicate finish.
Noll made 11 saves in the contest.
The Jaspers have clinched the No. 9 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament and will take on the No. 8 seed, the Saint Peter's Peacocks, at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The winner of the match will take on top-seeded Monmouth at 2:15 p.m. on Friday in the quarterfinal round. The tournament will be held at Disney from Thursday, Nov. 5 through Monday, Nov. 9.
