Manhattan Battles No. 8 Virginia In 8-5 Setback

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Riverdale, NY - Manhattan gave No. 8 Virginia all it could handle and then some before dropping a hard-fought 8-5 decision in non-conference action at Gaelic Park.
 
The Jaspers fall to 3-3 while the Cavaliers improve to 5-1.

Senior Michael Zingaro (Cortlandt Manor, NY / Walter Panas) was outstanding in defeat, recording 18 saves and a team-high five ground balls.

Manhattan opened up the scoring with a pair of first-quarter scores as sophomore CJ Scharf (West Islip, NY / West Islip) delivered a man-up goal off a pass from classmate Luke Hanson (Middletown, NY / Minisink Valley) at the 5:48 mark before freshman Jake Nicolosi (West Islip, NY / West Islip) scored a minute and a half later.

Virginia would respond with three goals to end the half in taking a 3-2 lead into intermission.

The Jaspers struck first after halftime as sophomore Brandon Grinnell (Wakefield, MA / Wakefield Memorial) tied it up at the 12:28 mark off a feed from junior Parker Giarratana (Delray, FL / Boca Raton Community). 

After Manhattan battled back to tie the game, the Cavaliers immediately responded just 20 seconds later in taking a 4-3 lead. Once again, the Jaspers fought back and drew even at 4-4 when sophomore Trevor Pelletier (Miami, FL / Gulliver Prep) blasted one into the back of the net while sending the Manhattan faithful into a frenzy.

Unfortunately, Virginia would answer with three-straight goals to end the stanza in grabbing a 7-4 lead.

Despite the deficit, the Jaspers would continue to fight and killed off a penalty before Hanson blasted in a one-timer off a pass from Mike Lombari (West Islip, NY / West Islip) with 10:19 remaining. Manhattan had a chance to make it a one-possession game but were unable to convert and the Cavaliers added an empty-net score in providing the final 8-5 score.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Hanson paced Manhattan with a goal and an assist.
- The Jaspers were 19-for-20 on clear attempts with the Cavaliers going 20-for-20.
- Virginia was 0-for-4 on man-up opportunities with Manhattan going 2-for-8.
- Ian Laviano and Matt Moore each scored two goals to lead the way for the Cavaliers.
- Manhattan is now 0-5, all-time, against ACC opposition but had lost its previous four match-ups by a combined total of 83-15.

UP NEXT
- The Jaspers will travel to UMass Lowell on Saturday, March 10 with opening face-off slated for 1:00 pm.