NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's lacrosse team secured a postseason berth for a second-straight year on Tuesday night with a 10-5 victory at Mount Saint Mary. The Valiants improve to 5-10 overall and 4-2 in the Skyline Conference, officially clinching the fourth and final spot in the Skyline Championship Tournament starting next week.
With the win, Manhattanville will be competing in a conference championship in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. It will also be the first time the Valiants will appear in a postseason tournament in back-to-back years since 2003 and 2004 when Manhattanville competed in the ECAC Metro/South Tournament a year before making the Knickerbocker Conference Tournament.
Sean Larkin (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) was involved in half of his team's scoring, netting three goals while assisting on two others. The graduate midfielder is wrapping up the best season his collegiate career, carrying 47 total points on 35 goals and 12 assists into the final game of the regular season.
Three days removed from the best game of his career,
Drew Palladino (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) earned three points on a pair of goals and an assist.
Michael Swift (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) and
Dom Janavey (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Lakeland) each scored twice, while
Tyler Berch (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) scored a goal and added an assist.
Joe Keating put the Knights up three minutes into the game, but that would prove to be the home team's only goal of the first half as the Valiants took over. Larkin tied the game up a minute later on an unassisted tally as the score held stagnant a 1-1 over the next six minutes. Larkin broke the tie as the clock dipped below five minutes in the opening quarter before Swift added his first of the night to put the Valiants up 3-1.
Manhattanville dominated the second quarter, outshooting MSMC 14-9. Larkin completed his hat trick 2:20 into the period before assisting Palladino on a man-up goal to further Manhattanville's lead to 5-1 with ten minutes to play before halftime. Palladino went on to add his second goal of the quarter before Janavey got into the goal column from Berch for half's end for a 7-1 lead for the Valiants through 30 minutes of play.
Despite the Valiants holding a game-high 13-3 shot discrepancy in the third quarter, it was the Knights that finished with more goals in the period. Larry Frank and Luke Dombroski goals bookended the quarter, with Berch scoring from Larkin to account for Mannattanville's lone tally of the third.
Manhattanville carried an 8-3 lead into the final quarter of play, with Frank pulling the Knights within four a minute in to the fourth. Janavey was able to reestablish the five-goal cushion with 14:42 left to play before Tim Doyle responded for Mount Saint Mary 51 seconds later. The Knights would chase the four-goal deficit for the remainder of the night, unable to inch any closer before Swift delivered the final blow off a Palladino assist with 3:20 left in regulation.
Joe Ulzheimer (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) made 10 saves in the win, setting a new career-best with 177 stops on the year. The junior improved to 5-9 in the net with a 13.98 goals-against average with the win.
Francisco Rosas (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) finished with a team-high three ground balls, while
Nick Padovani (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac),
Aaron Goldstein (Walden, N.Y./Valley Central) and
Matt Bundy (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) each finished with two. On the topic of Goldstein and Padovani, the Valiant faceoff specialists combined to win 11 of the game's 19 faceoffs, with Goldstein winning seven draws and Padovani winning four.
Up Next
A potential preview of a Skyline Conference Championship tournament matchup, the Valiants will close out the regular season on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Farmingdale State. The Rams currently sit atop the Skyline Conference standings.
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