WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Manhattan men's lacrosse won the fourth quarter, and then won the game, squeaking by Monmouth by a final score of 9-7 on Saturday afternoon at Kessler Stadium. The Jaspers and Hawks entered the fourth quarter tied at 7, before Sean Shelko broke through for the game-winning goal less than a minute into the final stanza.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Monmouth opened the scoring just over two minutes off a goal from Connor Gorman.
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Gorman then found Luke Cole who extended Monmouth's lead to 2-0 before the end of the first quarter.
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Monmouth threatened to create serious separation after Gorman's second goal put the Hawks ahead 3-0 under two minutes into the second quarter.
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Manhattan finally got on the board at 9:21 off a goal from Tyler Mosca from less than 10 yards out. The finish was Mosca's third goal of the young season.
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With the Jaspers trailing 3-1, Hapward denied Brendan Dundas' shot from the left side to keep the deficit at two.
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Manhattan stayed aggressive on the attack, coming away with the last two goals of the second quarter from Alex Bales and Drew Hiner, the latter of which came with four seconds left in the quarter.
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In the third quarter, Monmouth would stretch its lead to 6-3 on goals from Brendan Dundas and Nick Teets.
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Manhattan ended the third quarter on a 4-1 scoring run off goals from Shelko, Aiden Kane, Hiner and Engel over a span of 3:29.
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After Shelko's goal put Manhattan ahead by one in the fourth quarter, Kelly DuPree closed the scoring with 2:34 left.
STATS AND NOTES
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Manhattan forced Monmouth into 20 turnovers on Saturday.
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Alex Bales' goal was the first of his career and came off a crucial Monmouth turnover in the late stages of the second quarter.
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The meeting was the first between both programs since April 2022 when the Jaspers beat the Hawks 11-4 at Kessler Stadium. The 2022 campaign was Monmouth's final season as a member of the MAAC.
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Mosca extended his streak with two goals to two games.
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Only 2 of the Jaspers' 9 goals came with assists as both came from the stick of Engel.
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After starting 0-4 in the month of February last season, the Jaspers are off to a 2-0 start in 2025.
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Saturday's game was the season opener for the Hawks.
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Fresh off winning MAAC Defensive Player of the Week last week, Connor Hapward notched his 16th double-digit save game of his career, including 15 in his last 17 games dating back to last season.
QUOTES FROM MANHATTAN
Manhattan head coach Doug Sage: "Our defense and goalie (Hapward) stepped up today to lead us to a great all-around team win."
Sage on the turning point in the game: "The offense and face-off unit started to compete at a higher level in the 3rd which built up momentum going into the final quarter."
NEXT TIME OUT
Next Saturday, Feb. 15, Manhattan will trek up to Burlington, Vermont to play the Vermont Catamounts (0-1) who will look to redeem themselves after a season-opening loss at Syracuse. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ at 12PM.
Follow Manhattan men's lacrosse on X (@Manhattan_WBB) and Instagram (@manhattanlax).
