Air Force Grounded by Late Manhattan Goal
from press release
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Outscored 6-2 in the second
half, the Air Force lacrosse team dropped a close 9-8 decision to
Manhattan Tuesday night at Gaelic Park. With the loss, the Falcons
fall to 3-5 on the season, while the Jaspers move to 4-4 on the
year.
Manhattan’s Justin Jensen scored the game-winner with just 11
seconds left on the clock to lead the Jaspers to the
come-from-behind victory. It marked the first and only lead of the
game for Manhattan, which trailed by as many as three goals in the
contest.
The Falcons were first to get on the board in the game, as
sophomore Vinny Sandtorv (Centereach, N.Y.) scored on a man-up goal
with an assist from senior captain Griffin Nevitt (Charlotte,
N.C.). The two teams traded goals for the rest of the period, with
long-stick midfielder Jeff Pecora (Dover, Del.) tallying a score
with 1:02 on the clock to give Air Force a 3-2 lead after one
quarter.
The Jaspers were first to register a goal in the second period, and
the score remained knotted at 3-3 for more than 10 minutes before
the Falcons rattled off three straight goals within a span of 32
seconds. Sandtorv ignited the spurt with a score at the 3:45 mark
in the second period. Defenseman Bryan Gilbreath (So.,
Bainbridge Island, Wash.) added a goal 10 seconds later off the
ensuing face-off, while Nevitt capped off the Air Force run with
his first goal of the day with 3:24 on the clock.
Manhattan again opened up the scoring in the third period, but a
goal from Eric Evans (Sr., Ellicott City, Md.) put the Falcons back
up by three goals with nearly 13 minutes remaining in the quarter.
However, Air Force did not score again in the period, while
Manhattan registered a pair of scores, including a man-up tally, to
get back within one goal.
After the Jaspers tied the score at 7-7 early in the final quarter,
Sandtorv registered his third goal of the day to put the Falcons
back on top. The next nine minutes went scoreless for both teams,
before a man-up goal by the Jaspers with 2:54 remaining tied the
game once more. Following a Manhattan timeout in the last minute of
regulation, the Jaspers, who outshot Air Force 41-28 for the game,
were able to get the winning goal and controlled the final face-off
to earn the victory.
Sandtorv was the leading scorer for the Falcons with three goals,
while Nevitt added a goal and an assist. Midfielder Zack Carroll
(Freehold Township, N.J.) won 11-of-20 face-offs, including 7-of-10
in the second half to give the Falcons a slight edge at the X.
Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Brian Wilson (Summit, N.J.)
registered nine saves in his first start of the season.
The Falcons have the next week and a half off before returning to
conference action on April 4 with a road game versus Notre
Dame.
Manhattan 9, Air Force 8
Air Force 3 3 1 1 8
Manhattan 2 1 3 3 9
AF Scoring: Goals: Vinny Sandtorv 3, Ridge Flick, Jeff
Pecora, Bryan Gilbreath, Griffin Nevitt, K.J. Landgraf.
Assists: Griffin Nevitt, Eric Evans, Ridge Flick.
Manhattan Scoring: Goals: James Synowiez 3, Sal Perrotto 3,
Salvatore Spatarella 2, Justin Jensen. Assists: Joe Variano 2,
Tyler Sabens, Salvatore Spatarella, Mike Brooks.
