April 22, 2006
Final Stats
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - In his final home game as a Saint, senior Matt Walsh took a shot with two seconds remaining but was denied by Jaspers goalkeeper John Geagen, sending Manhattan (7-11, 3-5) back to Riverdale with an 8-7 victory over Siena (3-9, 2-4) on Senior Day in rainy Loudonville. The loss marked the second consecutive game in which the Saints fell by just a single goal.
Prior to game time, 13 seniors were honored for their dedication and hard work throughout their four-year tenures at Siena.
By game's end, Walsh and freshman teammate Matt Girsh would register two goals apiece to lead the Saints on offense, as junior Matt Donovan, Chris Zarins, and James Mikel rounded out the remaining Siena players who made individual contributions of their own.
After an unassisted goal by Manhattan's Angelo Marrano to give the Jaspers an early 1-0 lead, the Saints scored two-straight goals fired by Mikel and Walsh within 25 seconds of each other that gave Siena a 2-1 lead. Mikel's goal came at the 8:54 mark with an assist by Donovan, while Walsh struck at the 8:29 mark off an assist that was credited to Girsh.
Following goals by Jaspers' midfielder Chris Oppito and Girsh that made the score, 3-2 in favor of the Saints, Manhattan embarked on a 3-0 run to conclude the first half of play. Marrano tallied two additional strikes in the run, while brother Jeremy accounted for the remaining goal that gave the Jaspers a 5-3 lead at halftime.
Manhattan kept their offensive surge alive early in the second half, as sophomore Michael Wilcox and Oppito scored back-to-back goals that extended the Jaspers' lead to four, 7-3.
The Saints notched the contest at 7-7 after four unanswered goals that began at the conclusion of the third period with an unassisted goal by Donovan. Walsh, Girsh and Zarins scored three-straight to tie the game on the Saints' behalf with 3:12 remaining. Walsh and Zarins' goals were unassisted while Donovan was credited with the assist to Girsh.
With just 2:41 remaining, junior Brian Murray scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal for the Jaspers that snuck past Saint's goalkeeper, David Jalette.
Between the pipes, both Jalette and Geagan registered seven saves apiece. Statistically, the Jaspers out-shot the Saints 38-18, while also picking up four more groundballs than their counterpart, 43-39. In face-offs, the Saints went 8-19, while the Jaspers went 11-19. In extra-man opportunities, the Saints converted just once, finishing the game 1-5.
The Saints next travel to Buffalo, N.Y. to square-off against conference foe, Canisius on Wednesday with a 2 p.m. start.
