PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's lacrosse team is off to a 2-0 start to 2024 following a 14-8 win over visiting Wilkes in the team's home opener.
The win snaps the team's two-game losing streak to the Colonels, dropping contests against Wilkes in each of the last two seasons. The 14 goals is also the second-most the Valiants have scored in a matchup against Wilkes in the seven matchups in the series' history, second to only the 16 they netted in 2018.
The Vals opened the day up with a 4-1 first quarter, scoring the first goal of the contest just over five and a half minutes in.
Matt Bundy (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) netted his second tally of the year to put the home team on the board. With the celebration barely over,
Nick Padovani (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) won the ensuing faceoff and made a beeline to the cage, scoring his first of the year just five seconds later. Austin Sosnovik scored his first of three goals midway through the quarter before
Tyler Berch (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) scored twice to close out the opening frame.
Sean Larkin (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) notched the assist on sophomore Berch's second of the quarter.
The second quarter saw an identical scoring output, leading to an 8-2 Manhattanville lead at the half. Coming off his nine goals in last week's season-opener at Anna Maria,
Nick Cornelia (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) scored his first of what ended up being a five-goal day on Sunday with 9:32 left in the half. Sosnovik struck again for Wilkes two minutes later, but goals from
Michael Swift (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle), Cornelia and
Drew Palladino (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) ended the half on a 3-0 scoring run for the Valiants.
James Weinbaum (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) collected the assist on Palladino's tally, a man-up goal with 58 seconds left in the half.
Palladino opened up the second half with his second-straight tally 3:47 into the quarter, this time assist by Swift. The Colonels then strung together three-straight tallies, with a pair of Jackson Casper goals sandwiching a Colby Opromolla score. Cornelia ended Wilkes' scoring streak with an unassisted tally with 3:05 left in the quarter, but Opromolla struck again with a man advantage to cut the Wilkes deficit back to four. The Valiants worked some late-quarter magic once more, as Swift struck with 16 seconds left to carry an 11-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
Opromolla scored this third of the day to begin the fourth quarter scoring 1:45 in, but goals from Cornelia and
Dash Munson (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) effectively put the game out of reach. Palladino earned the assist on Cornelia's fourth of the contest, while Munson's first of the year came unassisted, putting the Valiants up 13-7 with 7:45 to play. Sosnovik and Cornelia each added one last tally for their respective teams, with the Valiants claiming the eventual 14-8 win.
In net,
Joe Ulzheimer (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) finished with eight saves for a second-straight game to open up the year, logging his second win of the season. The sophomore holds an 8.81 goals-against average to open up the year.
Cornelia collected a team-high six ground balls along with his leading scoring effort. Padovani,
Matt Bundy (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) and
Jarod Wilmoth (Harlem, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) each finished with four. Defensively,
Matthew Newman (Yonkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) caused five turnovers for the Valiants, while
Frank Tallerico (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) added three.
In addition to his goal, Padovani won 8 for the 12 faceoffs he took on the day, a total that was matched by his faceoff specialist teammate
Aaron Goldstein (Walden, N.Y./Valley Central).
The Valiants excelled at their clearing attempts for the day, going 18-for-19 in the contest.
Up Next
The Valiants are back at home on Wednesday afternoon, hosting Dean for a 4:30 p.m. matchup.
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