RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan Jaspers women's lacrosse team (1-9, 0-1 MAAC), fell in its first MAAC contest of the season to the Golden Griffins of Canisius (7-2, 1-0 MAAC) by a final score of 18-3 at Gaelic Park on Saturday morning.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sophie Pasnak opened the game with two saves in roughly 100 seconds before Canisius struck first just shy of the four minute mark.
- The first quarter proved to not be an offensive-heavy one, as the Golden Griffins's second score with 6:27 on the clock was the only one on the menu for the rest of the frame.
- It was the second quarter where the goals started to pile in, as Canisius took a 10-0 advantage into the locker room highlighted by a combined four goals from Ella Forcucci and Maddie Fitzgerald.
- Out of the halftime break, Manhattan tallied the first two of the second half, coming off the sticks of Lauren Maher and Ella Brunette in that order, both less than 90 seconds in.
- Canisius responded with five unanswered throughout the rest of the third quarter, taking a 15-2 edge into the final 15 minutes.
- Despite scoring the first three in the fourth and final frame, Maher connected for her second of the game with just over three minutes to play, off both a free position and man-up chance.
STATS AND NOTES
- Senior attacker Lauren Maher led the team with two goals en route to three points, just her second multi-goal performance of the young season. She is also now the third Jasper with at least 10 goals in 2026.
- Freshman midfielder Ella Brunette tacked on the other score for the Green and White, for her 22nd goal of the season, just behind teammate Julia Kerr (24).
- Senior defender Naomi Aristone caused the most turnovers for Manhattan with two.
- Junior midfielder Audrey Ziff won the most draw controls with six.
- Redshirt Junior goalkeeper Sophie Pasnak logged 11 saves through a full 60 minutes.
NEXT UP:
Manhattan will continue its 2026 campaign on Wednesday, March 25 when the Jaspers take the road again to continue the conference slate, this time squaring off against the Broncs from Rider. Action from Ben Cohen Field will get underway starting at 3:00 PM and can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
Follow Manhattan Women's Lacrosse on Instagram (@manhattanwlacrosse_) and X (@ManhattanWLacrosse).
