Marist men’s lacrosse (4-6, 1-4 MAAC) suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Manhattan Jaspers (4-6, 4-1 MAAC) 11-10 at Tenney Stadium. Manhattan’s graduate student attackmen Kyle Gucwa tallied six points, lifting the Jaspers to victory.
Jaspers senior goaltender Connor Hapward, who is ranked seventh in the country in saves per game finished with 17 saves on the day, one-off from his career-high. Marist sophomore attackman Peter Murray tallied five points for the Red Foxes, starting his first game this season.
Entering today, the Red Foxes needed a fast start and junior midfielder Sam Ferell delivered, giving the Red Foxes an early lead. Three minutes later, the Jaspers responded from none other than Gucwa.
A 3-0 run from the Red Foxes gave them an early advantage as junior attackmen Jake Deacy, Murray, and junior faceoff specialist Dylan Bedell tallied goals in the first quarter. Manhattan again responded as sophomore midfielder Kelly DuPree and Gucwa tallied quick back-to-back goals, shrinking the Marist lead to one.
On the ensuing possession, Murray showed his vision for the second time in the first quarter finding Ferrel for a score.
Unlike the high-powered offense displayed in the first quarter, gritty defense and turnovers from both sides filled the second quarter, as both teams went over nine minutes without scoring. Finally, Manhattan sophomore attackmen Sean Shelko broke the drought.
Murray added to his point total with two goals on ensuing possessions to give Marist a 7-4 lead. Late in the second quarter, the Jaspers got one back with a goal from junior midfielder Drew Hiner to cut the Red Foxes’ lead to two at halftime.
Manhattan opened up the second half with a goal from Shelko, his second of the game. Five minutes later, Manhattan found the back of the net again as junior attackman Scott O’Connor beat the Marist goalie to tie the game at seven. The Red Foxes did not score in the third quarter, and the game entered the final frame deadlocked at seven.
The Jaspers opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter as senior midfielder Quinn Bowler gave Manhattan their first lead of the game. That lead did not last long as freshman standout midfielder Christian Colantonio, attackmen Colin Patrick, and graduate student attackmen Josh Balcarcel scored to give Marist a commanding 10-8 lead.
After a Jaspers timeout, sophomore midfielder Liam Peabody buried one up top to bring the Jaspers back within one goal. After a Red Fox turnover, graduate student midfielder James Basile would find the back of the net, tying the game at 10 with under seven minutes left in the game.
After a flurry of saves by Marist, DuPree scored the go-ahead goal with under 90 seconds left in the game, giving the Jaspers an 11-10 lead late. Marist had a late chance to tie the game up, but Manhattan senior goalie Connor Hapward stood on his head, denying the Red Foxes once again.
Coming off a two-goal performance on Wednesday, Bedell dominated and won 18-25 faceoffs, as well as eight ground balls on the day.
After a tough game on Wednesday against Sacred Heart, Red Foxes junior goaltender Noble Smith finished with 10 saves. Smith made timely stops in the fourth quarter, but the Jaspers ultimately had the edge to come away with their third straight win.
Marist will try to rebound from this tough loss as they will head down to Emmitsburg, Maryland next Saturday, April 6th to take on Mount St. Mary’s. Opening faceoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Edited by Marley Pope
Graphic Credit: Raegan Van Zandt
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
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