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JU Men’s lacrosse struggles to solve Manhattan goalie in MAAC loss to Jaspers

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
Dolphins fall to 2-1 in MAAC playNEW YORK- Aggressiveness in the attacking end has been the season-long mantra for the JU men’s lacrosse team. The Dolphins applied the pressure against the Jaspers, but goalie Rich Akapnitis posted 16 saves to propel Manhattan to a 10-8 win at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon. JU out-shot Manhattan, 44-22. But the Dolphins fell to 4-6 and 2-1 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. The Jaspers tallied two extra-man goals in posting the wire-to-wire victory, improving its record to 3-8 and 2-0. Jeremy Tissenbaum, Owen Green and Bobby Stockton paced JU’s offense with two goals apiece. The Dolphins mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally, holding a 15-3 edge in shots in scoring three goals before falling short. Manhattan survived the onslaught thanks to an early cushion. Kelly Mahon opened the scoring by converting on Brian McGrath’s feed for a man-up goal just 3:11 in. Mike Llewellyn found the cage off Jon Crean’s pass 30 seconds later for a two-goal edge to start the contest. Tissenbaum put JU on the board, capitalizing on Cameron Mann’s crisp pass to cut Manhattan’s edge to 2-1. But the Jaspers scored four of the next six goals to take a 6-3 halftime edge. The Jaspers continued its hot streak after the break, scoring three straight third-quarter goals in a 7:07 span. Tyler Jarvis, Brett Madarasz and McGrath all beat JU goalie Peter DeLuca (six saves) for Manhattan’s largest lead of the game at 9-3 with 5:23 left in the third. JU then scored four straight goals as part of a 5-1 run to end the contest. Stockton registered both of his goals during the second-half stretch to make the game competitive. The senior midfielder now has 16 goals, moving into a tie with TJ Kenary for team lead. Stockton made just his fourth start in 10 games despite the high goal total. Tissenbaum, a junior midfielder, added a pair of goals off the bench, finishing as the only JU reserves to score. Mann compiled two assists as a substitute, marking just the second time in his two seasons that he was not in the starting lineup.  Mann’s assists marked his team-leading eighth multi-point game and extended his team-leading point total to 24. The Dolphins dominated possessions, establishing a 26-8 advantage in shots after halftime and a 15-7 edge in faceoffs overall. Akapnitis negated many of those extra JU chances, making six saves in the fourth quarter alone to thwart the Dolphins comeback hopes. Rob Moore struggled to solve Akapnitis. The freshman middie fired eight shots, including five on net, but finished without a single point as his goal-scoring streak ended at six games. Akapnitis caused one turnover and finished with a game-high 10 ground balls. Mahon, Jarvis and Brett Miranda each scored two goals coming off the bench for the Jaspers as Manhattan’s reserves accounted for eight of the team’s 10 total goals. The Dolphins are 0-6 when allowing 10 or more goals this season. JU will look to rebound at home on April 9 when it hosts reigning-MAAC champion Siena at noon at D.B. Milne Field.

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