Steve Manitta enters his third season with the Jaspers in 2015. He was named head coach of the Manhattan College men's lacrosse program on July 2, 2012.
In his second year at the helm, the Jaspers really hit their stride. After playing some very difficult non-conference competition, including North Carolina and Princeton early in the season, Manhattan was ready for MAAC play. The Jaspers concluded the year at 5-10, but were 3-3 against conference opponents. Manhattan narrowly missed out on a postseason tournament berth. Their 3-3 mark in conference saw them in a five way tie for second place, but they were eliminated from playoff contention on goal differential.
In his first season, Manitta oversaw a squad that heavily improved their man-down defense from the year prior, holding opponents to a .358 conversion percentage. The Jaspers also saw improvement in goals per game and clearing percentage. Despite a 4-11 record, Manhattan was 3-2 at home with four of their losses coming by three or fewer goals. They ended the season on an impressive high note, defeating conference regular season champion (and previously unbeaten in the MAAC) Marist 14-12 at Gaelic Park.
Manitta came to Riverdale after three years as head men's lacrosse coach/assistant athletic director at Mercy College. He was hired as the first head coach of Mercy's fledgling men's lacrosse program in 2009. The team began play in 2010 and posted a 5-10 record in the competitive East Coast Conference (ECC) during its inaugural season. In 2011, he was named ECC Coach of the Year after leading the Mavericks to an 11-3 mark. Mercy was nationally ranked in 10 of 12 weeks that season, peaking at No. 7, and the six-win improvement represented the biggest jump of any program in NCAA Division II. In addition, Mercy led Division II in man-down defense in 2011, allowing just seven goals in 68 man-down situations (10.3 percent).
Among the 80-plus players Manitta recruited during his time at Mercy was goalkeeper T.J. DiCarlo, who was the USILA Division II Goalkeeper of the Year and an All-American in 2011.
Prior to his arrival at Mercy, Manitta was the head coach at Chatham High School in Chatham, N.J., from 2001-09. He compiled a 115-47 record at Chatham and developed five All-American players, including the 2008 NJSIAA Player of the Year. Manitta guided the Cougars to a pair of conference titles in 2007-08, as well as consecutive appearances in the Morris County Tournament semifinals. The Cougars received their first-ever state ranking during Manitta's first season, and his 2002 squad reached the state quarterfinals for the first time school history. He was named New Jersey Coach of the Year by the Newark Star-Ledger and Daily Record that season.
Manitta began his coaching career at Roxbury High School in Succasunna, N.J., where he established the lacrosse program in 1993. He guided the program to the state tournament in just its third year of existence and mentored eight all-conference players, including five all-state selections, in seven seasons.
A native of Fulton, N.Y., Manitta is just the third head coach in the history of the Manhattan men's lacrosse program, which began play in 1996. He played midfield at SUNY Morrisville, earning all-region honors in 1989, and later earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Nyack College.
He and his wife, Kim, reside in Chatham, N.J., with their two sons, Teddy and Colin.
