Manhattan University Athletics

RIVERDALE, NY – In its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game of the season, the Manhattan College women's lacrosse team (2-5, 0-1 MAAC) dropped a 15-5 decision to Canisius (6-4, 1-0 MAAC) at Gaelic Park on Saturday afternoon.  Molly Fitzpatrick (Yorktown, NY) had a hat trick for the Jaspers, while Darby Nolan (Oak Ridge, NJ) added two goals.

Manhattan's players wore purple headbands and collected donations at the game to benefit Relay For Life, a charity that raises money and awareness to aid in the fight against cancer.

After the Griffs scored the first goal of the contest, Fitzpatrick tied it just over a minute later.  However, Canisius responded with nine of the game's next 10 tallies to open up a 10-2 lead.  Nolan converted a free position shot with 2:42 left in the first half, then Emily Englert (Somers, NY) connected with Fitzpatrick at the 52-second mark to trim Manhattan's deficit to 10-4 at halftime.

Canisius rattled off four straight goals to open the second half, extending its advantage to 14-4.  Nolan found the back of the net for the second time with 7:09 remaining before the Griffs capped the scoring with a goal in the final minute.

All three of Fitzpatrick's goals came in the first half, and Nolan recorded one tally in each period.  Emma Kaishian (Yorktown, NY) picked up five ground balls, while Emily Sandford (Floral Park, NY) led the Jaspers with three caused turnovers.  Caitlin Murphy (Carmel, NY), meanwhile, notched three draw controls and two caused turnovers.  In addition to collecting three ground balls, goalkeeper Nikki Prestiano (Yorktown Heights, NY) (2-5) tallied 10 saves.

For the Griffs, Erica Evans finished with four goals and three assists.  Jourdan Roemer added three goals and three assists, while Tessa Chad contributed three goals and an assist.  Ashley Bull recorded eight draw controls and caused three turnovers to go along with her two goals.  Rebecca VanLaeken stopped seven Manhattan shots and also secured seven ground balls.