Riverdale, NY – Senior Sarah Lang (Golden's Bridge, NY / Vermont) notched her third straight hat trick, but Arizona State topped Manhattan 18-8 in the Jaspers' home opener at Gaelic Park on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Sun Devils improve to 3-1 in their first year of Division I lacrosse, while Manhattan stumbles to 1-2.
Arizona State broke the ice with four straight goals to open up the contest. Midway through the opening stanza, senior Kara Hodapp (Oak Ridge, NJ / Jefferson Township) forced a Sun Devil turnover and transitioned into the offensive zone. Junior Molly Fitzpatrick drew a foul and proceeded to score her sixth of the season on the free-position to cut the deficit to 4-1.
With less than 10 minutes to play in the first half and the Jaspers on the attack, Lang picked up a loose ball on the right side of the net and sneaked it into the post, making it a 6-2 Sun Devil lead at the time.
The visitors would respond with three straights goal, extending their lead to 9-2. As time wound down in the first frame, junior Caitlin Murphy (Carmel, NY / Carmel) fed Lang down the middle. The captain ripped a shot towards the lower right post past Arizona State's Berkeley Bonneau.
In the second half, ASU drew first blood with a Carley Adams tally. Liscio answered two minutes later, overcoming physical play from her defender a firing a high-low shot for her third goal of the season.
After Arizona State made it a 12-4 ballgame, Manhattan attacked with two consecutive goals. Sophomore Emily Sandford (Floral Park, NY / Sacred Heart) notched her first goal of the season off a free-position shot seven minutes into the second half. Three minutes afterward, Murphy looked to pass to Lang. In one stride, Lang caught the pass and launched the ball into the goal to complete a hat trick and force a Sun Devil timeout with the score 12-6.
That would be the closest the Jaspers would get to the Pac-12 foe. Arizona State registered six straight goals to ice the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Murphy finished with one goal and two assists.
- Hodapp tallied the final Manhattan goal in the contest to increase her season scoring streak to three straight games.
- Lang, Fitzpatrick and Murphy all ended with three points, the second consecutive game that Manhattan had three players with at least three points.
- The Jaspers had more successful clears (13) than Arizona State (11).
- Junior Emma Kaishian (Yorktown, NY / Yorktown) came off the bench to scoop a team-high four ground balls. Ten difference Jaspers recorded a ground ball.
- Manhattan earned eight free-position shots in the game and held Arizona State to zero free-position shots in the second half.
The Jaspers return to the road, traveling to Easton, PA for a date with Lafayette on Wednesday, February 28 at 7:00 pm.