RIVERDALE, N.Y. -- The first three periods of play went back and forth between the Keydets and Jaspers on Saturday, but Manhattan would pull away with five straight goals in the fourth to capture the 12-7 win over VMI at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, N.Y. VMI pulled to within a goal in the opening minute of the fourth period when Tony Cavalero found the back of the net, but the Manhattan offense would get going and propel the Jaspers to their third straight victory to end the 2006 season.
With the win, the Jaspers finish their 2006 season at 6-7 overall, and 4-4 in the MAAC. The Keydets finish at 3-10, and 2-6 in conference play.
Tony Cavalero (Annandale, Va./Annandale) paced the Keydets today with three goals while freshman goalie John Collier (Centreville, Va./Woodberry Forest) came up with 13 saves in the contest. Manhattan was led by Brian Murray and Greg Lewis with four points apiece, while the Jasper's freshman goalie John Geagan picked up the win with eight saves in the cage.
VMI jumped on the board early when senior attackman Joe Picariello (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) converted a Kevin Hill (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) feed to give the Keydets a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the game. The Jaspers would respond in the end of the first with the equalizer, in what would become a trend in the first half. The Keydets took the lead four times in the opening half, but each time the Jaspers responded with goals of their own.
Cavalero would score two of his team-high three goals in the second period, and the Keydets also received a score from sophomore Matt Harrison (Great Mills, MD/St. Mary's Ryken) to take a 4-3 lead. However, Harrison's goal was followed by two straight scoring strikes from Manhattan as they took a 5-4 lead heading into the half.
Trailing by just a goal, the Keydets would hit a scoring slump in the third period. Hampered by the loss of two of the team's top four scorers in previous games, VMI managed to fire off seven shots in the third but would only net one of those. Hill scored the lone goal for the Keydets, his team-best 31st point, while Manhattan got a pair of scores to push their lead to 7-5 heading into the fourth.
The Keydets would start off the fourth period on the right track, when Cavalero beat Geagan at the 10:28 to pull within one goal of the Jaspers. However, that's when Manhattan would get its offense clicking. The Jaspers, however, would rattle off five straight goals in the ensuing minutes of the game to pull away from VMI. Senior Will Collier (Centreville, Va./Woodberry Forest) added a late goal for the Keydets, but the Jaspers came away with the 12-7 victory in conference play.
In the contest, Manhattan outshot the Keydets by a 37-25 margin, and held a slight 38-35 advantage in groundballs. Both teams were successful in the clearing game, as Manhattan went 21-25 and the Keydets converted 16-23.
Hill ends the season as the team's leading scorer in just his sophomore season. He finished with 17 goals and a team-high 14 assists for 31 points. The Trimble's followed closely behind, as David scored 27 points on 18 goals and 9 assists, while Robert added 16 goals and ten assists in ten contests.
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Scoring Summary:
1 2 3 4 F
Manhattan 1 4 2 5 12
VMI 2 2 1 2 7
MANHATTAN SCORING - GOALS: Murray, Brian 3; Oppito, Chris 3; Lewis, Greg 2; Marrano, Angelo 2; Schaefers, Christian 1; Piccola, Frank 1. ASSISTS: Labelle, Mark 2; Lewis, Greg 2; Crowley, Nick 1; Farrelly, Pat 1; Marrano, Angelo 1; Marrano, Jeremy 1; Murray, Brian 1.
VMI SCORING - GOALS: Cavalero, Tony 3; Picariello, Joe 1; Hill, Kevin 1; Collier, Will 1; Harrison, Matt 1. ASSISTS: Hill, Kevin 1; Picariello, Joe 1; Trimble, David 1.
GOALIES:VMI: Collier, John (60:00 minutes, 25 shots-13 saves, 12 GA); MAN: Geagan, John 5-4 (60:00, 15-8, 7).
Shots: Manhattan 37, VMI 25
Ground Balls: Manhattan 38, VMI 35
Penalty Minutes: Manhattan 5/3:30, VMI 6/6:00
Extra Man: Manhattan 2-for-5, VMI 1-for-5
Faceoffs: Manhattan 12-21, VMI 9-21
Clears: Manhattan 21-25, VMI 16-23
