Riverdale, NY (April 27, 2005)- After Providence stormed out to a 4-0 lead at the outset, Manhattan slowly came back, tying the score at five at the half and eventually taking a 9-8 lead late in the game. However, the Friars responded with two goals of their own to retake the lead, including the game-winner by Dan Giuntini with 8.7 seconds left, lifting Providence to a 10-9 win this afternoon at Gaelic Park.
After the Friars (7-7, 6-1 MAAC) scored those four unanswered goals with the final one coming at the 5:03 mark in the first quarter, the Jaspers (7-5, 6-1 MAAC) regrouped after a timeout and scored three straight to close within a goal.
Christian Schaefers got Manhattan on the board first, taking a feed from
Eugene Tanner, and then Tanner put home two goals of his own, the first coming on a man-up opportunity at the 2:27 mark, and the second one coming with 11 seconds left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 4-3.
After Sean Kirwan fired one past Jasper goalkeeper
Justin Henry to put the Friars ahead 5-3,
Chris Oppito and
Greg Lewis combined for two goals to knot the score at five heading into intermission, as the Jasper defense held Providence at bay for the remainder of the half.
However, Kirwan struck again, with 5:55 left in the third quarter to put Providence ahead. Manhattan tied the game a second time, when
Justin Otto scored his first goal of the day on a nice feed from Oppito to tie the score at six. But Providence regained the momentum, scoring the final two goals of the quarter to go ahead 8-6, with the final tally coming with six seconds left in the stanza.
Manhattan came back again, paced by back-to-back goals by
Jeremy Marrano.
Rob Sitar found Marrano at the 14:21 mark, and Marrano scored on a feed from Otto on a man-up opportunity at the 11-minute mark to tie the score for a third time during the game. Otto then put the Jaspers ahead 9-8 at the 3:18 mark for Manhattan's first lead of the game. However, Providence responded with 2:07 left, finally breaking through against Henry, who had made four saves during the quarter. After Mark Seyer scored at the 2:07 mark, Guintini fired home the game-winner with 8.7 seconds left, dealing Manhattan its first MAAC loss of the season.
Henry finished with 12 saves for Manhattan, which is now in a tie for first in the MAAC at 6-1 in the conference. The Jaspers will close out the regular season on Saturday, April 30, when they will host Mount St. Mary's. Saturday is Senior Day, as Manhattan's eight seniors will be honored in a brief pre-game ceremony. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Gaelic Park.
