Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan men's lacrosse team dropped its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener to Canisius, 8-4, at Gaelic Park on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Jaspers fall to 0-7. Canisius improves to 1-5.
The Golden Griffins scored the first three goals of the game, but had to mount a second half run to ensure the team would hold the lead and come away with its first win of 2015.
A 4-0 spurt from the 13:35 mark of the third quarter to the 4:22 point of the fourth provided Canisius with an 8-3 edge.
The second half run included goals from junior Vince Gravino, senior Tim Edwards and two from junior Billy Jacobbi to put Canisius firmly ahead.
The first half was a different story, with the Golden Griffins contolling play for a majority of the first quarter, but Manhattan fighting back over the final 20 minutes before the break.
Canisius leapt out to a 3-0 lead over the first 8:29, but junior midfielder Nick Strano (Rocky Point, N.Y. / Rocky Point) halted the run by putting Manhattan on the board with just under three minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
After Jacobbi struck for the Golden Griffins to make it 4-1, the Jaspers notched back-to-back goals over the final 7:35 of the second quarter to trail by just a single goal after a half hour of play.
After receiving a great pass from sophomore Alex Abiog (Saratoga, Calif. / Bellarmine College Prep.), freshman Andrew Gresham (Pitt Meadows, B.C., Canada / Pitt Meadows Secondary) found an opening to the right side of Canisius starting goalkeeper Alex Govenettio. Gresham ripped a shot just under the crossbar to make the score 4-2. Just over two minutes later, senior captain Marcel Godino (Summit, N.J. / Summit) wound up to the left of Govenettio and placed a shot perfectly inside the far post, netting a man-up goal to bring Manhattan to within one at 4-3. Senior Christopher Ottati (Amsterdam, N.Y. / Christian Brothers Academy) picked up an assist on the play.
4-3 marked the closest the Jaspers would come, as they never led in the game.
The lone Manhattan goal in the second half came off the stick of sophomore Matt Garvey (Essex Fells, N.J. / West Essex) with :47 to play in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Michael Zingaro (Cortland Manor, N.Y. / Walter Panas) started in goal for the Jaspers and played well, recording ten saves.
Defensively, freshman Frank Merrill (Mountain Lakes, N.J. / Mountain Lakes) led the team with six ground balls and was tremendous in aiding the Jaspers gain possessions off the faceoff. Junior Jack Fowler (Bethesda, Md. / St. John's College) went 8-11 from the X.
Manhattan held an edge in shots, 35-30, and ground balls, 22-18, in the outing.
Jacobbi led all players with four points, all of which were goals, in the contest.
Manhattan returns to action on Wednesday, March 18, when the squad travels to Delaware to take on the Fightin' Blue Hens. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.