May 3, 2009
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Junior goalkeeper Brent Herbst made 14 saves and the Siena offense started rolling in the second quarter to give the Saints a 9-5 victory over Manhattan in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse championship Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. Siena's first ever MAAC Championship earns the team an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament's field of 16; also a program first.
MAAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Brent Herbst was strong from the opening whistle, making four saves in the first quarter. At the 9:33 mark, he made a sparkling kick save on a rocket by Salvator Spatarella.
Siena's (12-5) offense struggled to get going and committed four turnovers in the opening period. But on Siena's first sustained possession, Kenny Mazzone created the game's first goal. He dodged his man and found Chris Zarins on the left side who finished the shot in the back of the net.
Herbst made another big save with just five seconds remaining in the first period. Spatarella bounced a shot at Herbst's feet, but the goaltender handled it to preserve the 1-0 Siena lead heading into the second quarter.
John Rogener scored the first of four second quarter goals at the 11:17 mark. He came from behind the cage and labeled the shot in the top right corner, taking a heavy hit as he let it go. Shaun Dunn tacked on two more goals in the next four minutes. Mazzone set up the second one, throwing a cross-field pass and taking a shot from the defender. Dunn caught and fired it over John Geagan's stick.
The Jaspers were on the doorstep midway through the second period, but defensemen Anthony Nunziata and Travis Montgomery pushed them right off. MAAC Offensive Player of the Year James Synowiez beat his man and just as he reached the crease, Nunziata and Montgomery slid and checked the ball away. Synowiez finished the game with one goal.
Manhattan (10-8) finally broke through with 35 seconds left in the half. There was a delayed penalty and the Jaspers capitalized as Justin Jensen scored.
Manhattan scored the only goal of the third period with 3:49 remaining. On a broken play, an errant pass was picked up by Luke Dilillo and he shot it in the open net.
Siena's defense buckled down in a critical spot five minutes into the fourth quarter. Chris Viviano and Nunziata each took one-minute penalties for unnecessary roughness and the Saints had to kill a two-man penalty with two of their better defenders off the field. Herbst came through, making two saves.
The Saints scored three straight goals in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Brendan Murphy scored a man-up goal as the penalty was released. Jordan Loftus followed with a goal of his own and Dunn completed the hat-trick to make it 8-2 with 7:59 remaining in the game.
But Manhattan came right back and scored seven seconds later. Angelo Marrano won the face-off and went right down the field and scored. Ryan Duggan answered for the Saints, scoring just six seconds later.
The Jaspers scored two goals in the final four minutes, but it wasn't enough. Siena won its first ever MAAC Championship in men's lacrosse and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth.
Dan Mulhall and Mazzone joined Herbst on the All-Tournament Team. Mazzone had three assists and Mulhall had three ground balls and one caused turnover. Herbst finished the MAAC Tournament with a 3.06 GAA and a .786 save percentage.
Siena faces defending national champion Syracuse and this year's No. 2 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
