RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Jaspers take down the last undefeated team in Division I, the Quinnipiac Bobcats, with a third quarter blitz. Manhattan knocked off the Bobcats, 15-12 at Gaelic Park this afternoon.
"Extremely proud of our team's effort against Quinnipiac which marked our first win over a top #20 ranked team in program history. We had to fight back after a tough 1st quarter to tie the game up at halftime and our players locked in for the 3rd quarter on offense, defense and face-offs," said head coach Doug Sage.
Following a slow first quarter for the Jaspers, the Jaspers took back control of the game in the second quarter, turning it around on the Bobcats with a 5-2 quarter. The first two goals of the quarter were both scored by Jaspers, the first by Kelly DuPree, and the second, a man-up goal, by James Basile. After an answer back by Quinnipiac, DuPree whipped another into the back of the Bobcats' net under a minute later. The Jaspers would go on to score the final two goals of the half.
After a close first half, the Manhattan men's lacrosse emerged from the locker room with some new plays drawn up. Just as it started to rain, the Jaspers rained down goals on the Bobcats, outscoring them 6-2 in the third quarter. Kyle Gucwa broke the tie for the Jaspers with an unassisted goal at 14:24 to put them up 8-7. The third quarter belonged to the Jaspers, going on a four-goal run, all within the span of two minutes, two of which were by Gucwa.
Even with an uneventful fourth quarter for the Jaspers, the lead they built against the Bobcats in the past two quarters carried them to victory. The Jaspers saw seven goal scorers this afternoon. Both DuPree and Gucwa put up four for the Jaspers, followed by a hat trick by Sean Shelko.
Leading the Jaspers in defense was James Hogan, picking up seven ground balls and winning 14 out of 25 faceoffs.
The Jaspers play again later in the week on Saturday March 30 at 1 p.m against Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
For the latest on the Manhattan College men's lacrosse program, follow the Jaspers on Twitter @ManhattanMLAX and Instagram @Manhattan_Lacrosse.