Philadelphia, PA - Reigning Atlantic 10 champion La Salle scored in the seventh minute and made it hold up en route to posting a 1-0 win over Manhattan in the Jaspers' season opener at McCarthy Stadium.
Marcela Robinson found the back of the net on a header off a pass from Jenna Soriano for the lone score of the match as the Explorers improve to 3-0.
Senior goalkeeper Kelly DiGregorio (Centereach, NY / St. Anthony's) opened the season with an outstanding performance in net, turning away a career-high nine saves, despite facing constant pressure all night.
Manhattan will be back at it on Sunday, August 26 at 10:00 am against Hartford at Gaelic Park.
NOTES
* La Salle owned advantages in shots (17-3), shots on goal (10-1) and corner kicks (10-0).
* DiGregorio made four saves in less than three minutes in the first half on the way to notching five in first stanza.
* Twenty different Jaspers saw action.
* Sophomore transfer Tia Painilainen (Espoo, Finland / Arizona), classmate Alexa Chapman (Morganville, NJ / Marlboro) and freshman Olivia Maldonado (Babylon, NY / Babylon) all made their first career starts.
* Maldonado and Painilainen along with freshmen Bri Floyd (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central), Kaitlyn Hogan (Monroe, NY / Monroe-Woodbury) and Eve Montgomery (Abington, MA / Whitman-Hanson Regional) each also made their first appearances for Manhattan.
* Sophomore Lindsey Healy (Sussex, NJ / Pope John XXIII Regional) recorded the lone Manhattan shot on goal in the 50th minute while classmates Sophie Demurjian (Manasquan, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) and Gemma Perez (Park Ridge, NJ / Paramus Catholic) also registered shots.
* The Jaspers opened on the road for the first time since 2012 and is now 14-13-1 in lidlifters.
* Manhattan, along with Saint Peter's, were the final two MAAC teams to open up play in 2018.