With the victory, the Jaspers improve to 12-5 and 5-4 in the MAAC, maintaining the sixth spot in the standings with less than a week remaining in the regular season. The Golden Griffins fall to 4-9-2 and 2-6-1 in the league, which eliminates them from postseason play.
Manhattan dominated the action on Senior Night in posting advantages in shots (25-3), shots on goal (7-1) and corner kicks (6-2), but broke through until just after the start of the second stanza.
After clearing the ball out of the defensive zone, freshman midfielder James Cotter (Wigan, England / Hawkley Hall) found a streaking Brandon Joseph-Buadi (Brighton, England / Woodard) in the left corner. The sophomore forward crossed it to classmate Berti Fourrier (Marseille, France / IFC Marseille) for an easy finish in the 52nd minute.
Canisius had an opportunity to tie the match in the 60th minute as Josef Preci's shot bounced off a Jasper defender and the post, before senior Connor Hayes batted the ball out of the box. The Golden Griffins were unable to convert the ensuing corner kick as the Jaspers were never seriously threatened the rest of the match.
Manhattan added an insurance goal with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Junior captain Tristan Doran (Jupiter, FL / Benjamin) dispossessed a Golden Griffin inside his own zone. Cotter corralled the loose ball and flicked it to his right for junior forward Noah Amissah (London, England / Orleans Park), who beat Canisius goalie Bryce Tramuta in the lower-right corner to make it 2-0.
The Jaspers turn their attention to their regular season finale at undefeated Fairfield (7-0-2 MAAC, conference-best 23 points), squaring off on Wednesday, October 31 at 7:00 pm. Manhattan would clinch a playoff spot with a victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- With yet another defensive record fallen, Manhattan sets a new benchmark with its ninth shutout of the season, surpassing the standard set in 1988 and 2017.
- The Jaspers have reached five MAAC wins in consecutive seasons for the first time in the program's 31-year tenure in the conference.
- As his mother, father and brother watched from the stands, senior goalkeeper Connor Hayes (El Dorado Hills, CA / Oak Ridge) made his first appearance of the season, making one save for his third career shutout. He has collected a win in each of the past three seasons.
- Hayes was one of five seniors Manhattan honored before kickoff in a special ceremony, along with forward Lucas Da Silva (West Palm Beach, FL / Palm Beach Atlantic), midfielder Ryan Shields (Wigan, England / Standish Community) and defenders Jean-Baptise Tamas-Leloup (Sainte Bazeille, France / Merignac) and Eduardo Avalos (Arlington, TX / Hill College).
- Amissah set a new career-best with his fourth goal of the season.
- Fourrier and Joseph-Buadi are tied once again for the team lead in points with 13.
- Cotter registered his first multi-point game as a Jasper and now has three assists on the season.
- All three of Manhattan's goalkeepers on the roster have earned wins in the 2018 campaign, combining for a 0.64 goals-against average.
- The Jaspers' 25-3 advantage in shots is the second-highest margin on the season, behind the +26 set against VMI on September 7.
- Da Silva, Amissah and Fourrier paced the team with four shots each as eight Jaspers recorded multiple shots.
- Five of Manhattan's six corner kicks came in the final 45 minutes.
After tonight's victory, the #JSN caught up with Berti Fourrier and Head Coach Jorden Scott to talk about the senior class and look ahead to Wednesday. #JasperNation pic.twitter.com/hsRwW4mKcc
— Jaspers Men's Soccer (@JaspersSoccer) October 28, 2018