THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Manhattanville men's lacrosse team earned their second win of the season by defeating the Maritime Privateers by the score of 10-9 on Wednesday evening. Junior Will Sahakian (Natick, Mass./Rivers School) led the team with three goals and also picked up an assist, while sophomore Brendan Kuntz (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) also had a four point night.
The Privateers struck first just 27 seconds into the game, but the Valiants answered quickly as Sahakian netted his first of the evening just 14 seconds later with Kuntz picking up the assist. Just over three minutes later the Privateers regained the lead as John Driscoll put one past junior goalie Dom Poletto (Engelwood, Colo./Regis Jesuit). Less than a minute later Kuntz got in on the scoring action by tying the score with 10:27 to go in the opening quarter.
After a few offensive possessions for both teams Manhattanville scored the next few goals as Sahakian put his second goal in the back of the cage followed by goals from junior Justin Figueroa (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) and another from Kuntz with just 13 seconds to go in the stanza as Manhattanville took a 5-2 lead into the first break.
In the second quarter Sahakian nearly scored less than 20 seconds in after ringing a shot off the post. The Valiants ended up getting the first goal of the second period as freshman Corey Steimel (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) scored a man-down goal after senior Phil Honovich (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) was sent to the sideline for a cross-check. Maritime scored twice, while Manhattanville got one goal down the stretch the first half as junior Billy Motherway scored with 38 seconds left to give Manhattanville a 7-4 lead into halftime.
In the third freshman Connor Castleman (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) put the Valiants up 8-4 as he netted a man-up goal after taking a pass from senior Joe Daly (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac). Sahakian got the hat trick just two seconds after a man-up opportunity had expired with 7:36 to go in the third quarter. Just 20 seconds later Maritime scored their fourth goal of the game to trim the lead to six; both teams went scoreless down the stretch of the third quarter as the game moved to its final regulation period.
The fourth quarter saw Manhattanville score first as Steimel scored his second of the game to give the Valiants double-digits on the scoreboard. Maritime scored three more times down the stretch of the fourth quarter but the Valiants were able to hold off the Privateers in the final three minutes to hold onto the 10-9 win.
In goal, Poletto picked up the win, stopping 22 shots and allowing the nine Maritime goals on the night. Taking the loss was Nick Barbuto who allowed all 10 Manhattanville goals while stopping 14 shots sent his way. Also Poletto took his first shot of the season but was unable to score in the third quarter.
For the game Maritime outshot their guests by a 55-36 margin but the Valiants led in the most important category on the scoreboard. The turnover battle was close as the Valiants gave the ball away 21 times to the Privateers 19 giveaways; Manhattanville was 25-for-30 on clear attempts while Maritime was near perfect at 23-for-25.
Manhattanville (2-7) finishes off the non-conference portion of their slate on Saturday when they travel to Babson to take on the Beavers at 1:00 p.m. Maritime (2-10) returns to conference play when they head to Galloway, N.J. to take on Stockton next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.