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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Erica Modena's goal in the fifth minute gave Manhattan a 1-0 lead that it would not relinquish, lifting the Jaspers a first-round victory over Quinnipiac at the 2013 MAAC Women's Soccer Championships at the Wide World of Sports Complex on Thursday afternoon.
Just four minutes into the match, Modena slotted a ball to Aislinn McIlvenny out wide and McIlvenny returned the ball to Modena streaking down the middle. Modena then buried it into the back of the net to put the Jaspers in front, 1-0. It was the first goal that Quinnipiac had allowed in 243 minutes since their match on October 19.
Manhattan keeper Kristen Skonieczny and Quinnipiac keeper Natalia Grodzki each made two saves the rest of the way to keep the match at 1-0.
"In the second half, we played alot of counterattacking soccer," head coach Brendan Lawler said as Manhattan preserved its 1-0 advantage. "In the second half, we focused on winning balls and putting people through. We had two one on one chances with their goalie but most of the second half was played in the midfield."
With 15 minutes to go, Martine Diamond was able to get free and had a shot that sailed high of the Quinnipiac goal. Four minutes later, Kaelyn Angelo's one-on-one attempt also went high.
Jessica Fontaine fired a shot on goal with five minutes left that Skonieczny stopped to maintain the one-goal lead. Quinnipiac also had a corner with 20 seconds left that the Jaspers denied to seal the first-round win.
"It was a total team effort," Lawler said. "We played to our strengths and tried to take away theirs. We're looking forward to playing a very good Fairfield team tomorrow."
Manhattan advances to tomorrow's quarterfinal round where the Jaspers will meet second-seeded Fairfield at 11:15 a.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
NOTES:
With the win, Manhattan surpassed its win total from last season ... Erica Modena and Aislinn McIlvenny have each scored six goals this season ... Modena's six goals are second among MAAC freshmen ... the Jaspers avenged a 1-0 loss eight days ago at Quinnipiac ... Manhattan has won in the first round of each of its last two MAAC Championships appearances ... all three matches in the first round were decided by a score of 1-0 ... sixth-seeded Siena defeated 11th-seeded Saint Peter's and ninth-seeded Canisius edged eighth-seeded Niagara to advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.
