RIVERDALE, NY — Manhattan women's lacrosse (2-11, 1-4 MAAC) welcomed the first-place Iona Gaels (6-6, 5-0 MAAC) for a Wednesday afternoon showdown at Gaelic Park. The Jaspers would outscore the Gaels 6-5 in the second half before succumbing to a 10-8 loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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It was a slow grind early on at Gaelic before Iona took the first lead of the game on a goal from Calen Norton at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter.
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The Jaspers, who had their share of chances in the opening stages, would tie the score at one apiece on a finish from leading-scorer Olivia Cruthers with 3:10 left in the first quarter.
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Before the end of the first, Iona tacked on more courtesy of Norton who was assisted by Kacie Scarduzio. That strike came with 40 seconds left in the opening stanza to regain the lead for Iona.
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Iona opened the second-quarter scoring on a goal from Norton, whose hat trick tally extended the Gaels lead to 3-1.
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However, Manhattan's offensive pressure kept the Gaels defense on its toes throughout the first half. The Jaspers used a free-position goal from Cruthers to cut the deficit to 3-2 with still 10:18 left in the second quarter.
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Then, Manhattan came inches away from tying the score but instead had the unfortunate luck of seeing Maya Metz's shot hit the post and bounce away from danger for Iona goalie Ava Giugliano.
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Iona would stay patient on the other end and grab the last two goals of the half, extending its lead to 5-2 at the break. Those goals came from Kira Varada and Scarduzio.
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By the early stages of the third quarter, the game had already been characterized by a slew of fouls that were called both ways.
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After going down 6-2 early in the third, Manhattan scored two unanswered via Juliana Mahan from Cruthers, cutting the deficit to 6-4 for the Jaspers.
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Nevertheless, just when the Jaspers were making inroads to get right back in it, Iona responded with two more goals to end the third quarter with an 8-4 lead. The seventh goal came from the familiar stick of Norton for her fourth.
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The pendulum began to swing Manhattan's way in the fourth as the Jaspers opened up the quarter with three consecutive goals to cut the Iona lead to 8-7. Two of the three (Julia Kerr at 13:39 and Cruthers at 10:56) came on man-up opportunities as the Gaels continued to be haunted by their own transgressions. Mahan scored the other one unassisted for the Jaspers during their comeback efforts.
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However, Iona would have just enough left in the tank to stay ahead. Norton (10:03) and Varada (2:58) would go back-to-back to push the Gaels lead back to three.
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Kerr would add the final tally with one minute remaining to make the final margin two.
STATS AND NOTES
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Olivia Cruthers had herself a day with three goals and three assists for a team-high six points.
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Curthers is up to a team-best 20 goals on the season with Wednesday's performance being her fourth hat trick of the season.
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Cruthers has had two games with four goals and a season-high five goals at LIU back on February 26.
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Danielle Serbinski was rock solid in goal with 12 stops.
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Manhattan secured 13 draw controls to Iona's 9.
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Emily Fiola led the way with nine draw controls.
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Wednesday's outing was Kerr's fourth multi-goal game of the season, bringing her goal total to nine for the campaign.
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Manhattan assistant coach Parker Brown played for the Gaels from 2016-2019 graduating with a degree in International Relations.
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Brown was teammates with current Gaels' assistant Leah Marshall.
NEXT UP
Manhattan will conclude its home slate of games when the Rider Broncs (4-9, 0-5) pay a visit to Gaelic next Wednesday. Game time is 3 pm on ESPN+.
Follow Manhattan women's lacrosse on Instagram (@manhattanwlacrosse_) and X (@ManhattanWLacrosse)