Manhattan Heads South For Florida Swing

Jacksonville, FL - Manhattan (0-2) returns to action with a pair of games this weekend in the Sunshine State. The Jaspers will take on Jacksonville (0-4) on Friday, August 31 at 7:00 pm before squaring off with North Florida (1-3) on Sunday, September 2 at 1:00 pm.
 
Follow Along
Jacksonville: There will be no video stream for the Jacksonville game but fans can follow along via live stats by clicking HERE.
UNF: Click HERE for the Facebook Live video stream and HERE for live stats.

Ahh The Sunshine State!
Manhattan will be playing in Florida for the first time since advancing to the MAAC Championship match last year. Senior Annie Doerr and sophomore Arianna Montefusco each scored two goals during the Jaspers' run with senior Emma Saul adding a goal and three assists. 

Homecoming Of Sorts
Junior goalkeeper Olivia Printy is a native Floridian and hails from Ponte Vedra Beach, which is located 18 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville.

Last Time Out
The Jaspers dropped a 3-1 decision to Hartford in its home opener despite freshman Kaitlyn Hogan's first career goal.
 
Long Live 10
Hogan's first career score is the 35th goal by a player wearing the No. 10 jersey over the last six years as 2017 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Erica Modena notched 34 over her five years with the program.

Day Of Firsts
Sophomore Shelby Jones also registered her first career point against Hartford, assisting on Hogan's goal.

Scouting Jacksonville
The Dolphins enter Friday's match-up with a 0-4 record, having dropped matches to Troy, Vanderbilt, Duquesne and Pitt. Freshman Sarah Alexander has scored the lone Jacksonville goal.

Series History
Manhattan and Jacksonville have met once before on September 12, 2003 as the Dolphins posted a 4-0 victory.

Scouting North Florida
The Osprey are 1-3, having defeated UNC Asheville while dropping decisions to Charleston, The Citadel and Middle Tennessee State. UNF is led by reigning Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year Thais Reiss. Reiss has one of the three Osprey goals on the year after finding the back of the net six times as a rookie. Rhiannon Conelley is the starting netminder after registering seven shutouts last season.

Series History
The teams will be meeting for the first time.

We're Going Streaking!
Manhattan has won two-straight games against Atlantic Sun opposition, besting NJIT in the each of the past two seasons at Gaelic Park. All-time, the Jaspers are 2-2 against the southern-based conference.

DYK?
UNF is coached by 1997 National Player of the Year and former North Carolina standout Robin Confer. 

Tough Start, Tough Opposition
Manhattan opened the season with a loss to reigning Atlantic 10 Champion La Salle before dropping the aforementioned contest to Hartford. This season, the Explorers and Hawks have a combined 6-2 record with each expecting to challenge for their respective league titles.

In The Rankings
Senior Kelly DiGregorio is second in the MAAC and 14th nationally with 7.5 saves per game in net for Manhattan, highlighted by a career-high nine stops in the opener at La Salle.

Not Too Shabby
The MAAC has posted a solid 17-14-3 record over the first two weeks of non-conference play with six schools possessing winning ledgers.

Notes From Sunday's Opener
* Junior Emma Boss, sophomore Lindsey Healy and classmate Gemma Perez all made their first starts of the year.
* For the second-straight game, the Jaspers have had 20 student-athletes see action.
* Manhattan dropped its home opener for just the second time in the last nine years, with both losses coming to Hartford.

Home Is Where The Heart Is
Since the start of the 2012 season, the Jaspers are 27-20-4, including 16-11-4 during league play, at Gaelic Park.

Preseason All-MAAC
Saul and Montefusco were each named to the preseason All-MAAC squad after each notching All-MAAC honors a year ago. Saul broke out in a big way as a junior, tying for the MAAC lead with nine assists to go along with four goals. Saul also scored a point in 11 matches while ranking ninth in the league with 17 points. Montefusco established herself as a top scoring threat, finishing third in the MAAC with nine goals and fifth with 21 points. She also garnered MAAC All-Tournament accolades after scoring two goals in Manhattan's semifinal victory over Quinnipiac, including the game-winning score. 

The Senior Class
Saul along with fellow seniors Nicole Copping (20 games, 2 assists - '17), Doerr (17 games, 3 goals, 1 assist - '17), DiGregorio (16 games, 8 wins, 1.19 GAA, .785 SV % - '17), Sara Naessig (DNP in 2017), Victoria Reis (19 games, 1 goal - '17) and Caroline Taylor (13 games, 1 goal - '17) have helped Manhattan to a solid 27-24-7 (16-8-6 MAAC) record and the programs' first two trips to the MAAC Finals over their first three-plus seasons. 

Freshmen Phenoms
Sophomores Sydney Harwood, Bri DeLeo and Perez all garnered MAAC All-Rookie Team accolades in 2017 with Harwood also earning a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team.

Jaspers Tabbed Fourth
Manhattan was selected to finish fourth in the annual MAAC preseason poll.

Watch On The JSN!
The Jaspers' next game with Binghamton on Thursday, September 6 will be the next game to be streamed on the Jasper Sports Network (JSN).

Non-Conference Noise
Manhattan will play six non-conference games against schools from three leagues. The Jaspers will square off with La Salle and Fordham from the Atlantic 10, Hartford and Binghamton from the America East and Jacksonville and North Florida from the Atlantic Sun.

Welcome To Riverdale
Led by sophomore Tia Painilainen, an Arizona transfer, the Jaspers have six new faces on the roster in 2018. Click HERE for the entire release.

Next Week
Manhattan will conclude non-conference play with games against Binghamton (Thursday, September 6) and at Fordham (Sunday, September 9).