Manhattan Ties Marist on Senior Day

Riverdale, NY - On an overcast Saturday afternoon at Gaelic Park, Manhattan and Marist tied in an exciting back and forth game that featured two overtime periods. A stout defensive performance from the Jaspers on top of a 11-save effort from Kim Mains kept the Jaspers chances alive until the final buzzer sounded.

"I'm very proud of them because it's so easy to put your head down but they just kept going," Manhattan Head Coach Brendan Lawler said. 

In the closing seconds of the second overtime period, Corrine Jackson had her shot blocked by a Mrist defender to end the Jaspers' final threat of the game. Before that, with eight minutes left in the second overtime, Mains kept the Jaspers alive with an incredible diving save to her right. Mains architected as close to a perfect game as possible with her career-high 11 saves. 

"She's been a huge component of how we rally off each other on and off the field," Manhattan Captain Gemma Perez said about Mains' impact on the team.

Manhattan finished with 13 shots but didn't get many clean attempts off. Julia Nicholas contributed five shots, including an attempt with seven minutes left in the second half that sailed right of the target. Nicholas got off one more shot in the overtime, but both teams only combined for three shots in the final two overtime periods. 

Marist outshot Manhattan 10-6 in the first half and despite not having any clear scoring chances the Red Foxes mostly kept the ball on the Jaspers' side of the field. When the Jaspers did look to move out, most of the action came through Eve Montgomery and Nicholas who threatened the Red Foxes' with their speed and hustle. 

Besides being to stave off a Marist team who had 22 shots and six corners, Manhattan changed the pace of the game over the last 10 minutes of the second half by pushing the ball forward with more success than at any other time of the game. Substitutes Nicolette Caneda and Amrit Arora helped give the Jaspers' offense a different look throughout the second and both combined for three shots. 

In the conference portion of their schedule, Manhattan has played seven games that either were decided by one goal or ended in a tie. The Jaspers have three wins and three losses in such contests. The tie against Marist was their first draw against a MAAC opponent this season. 

"I think the work really showed on the field and all of us really poured our blood, sweat, and tears into this game," Perez said. "We're going to keep our heads up looking forward to the next game and hopefully get a good result."

Before the game, the program honored seven players as part of their annual Senior Day festivities including Gemma Perez, Sydney Harwood, Olivia Maldonado, Kim Mains, Eve Montgomery, Bri Floyd and Kaitlyn Hogan. All seven of them were selected for the starting lineup against Marist. 

"My best memories are celebrating with the team and being united on and off the field," Maldonado said after the game.

"On Senior Day it's about them," Lawler said. "They've laid it out on the line for four years and it warms my heart to see their dedication to this program."

Manhattan's regular season finale is at home against Monmouth (11-4-1, 7-1-1 MAAC) on Wed., Oct. 27 with kick-off slated for 3 p.m. The Jaspers are currently tied with Rider for the eighth and final spot of the MAAC Playoffs. Both teams sit with 10 points and their lone matchup this season was a 1-0 Rider win in double overtime. The Jaspers are aiming for their first playoff appearance since 2017 when they lost to Monmouth in the final.