Riverdale, NY - Manhattan (3-4) opens MAAC play against Monmouth (2-4) on Saturday, March 17 with opening faceoff slated for 1:00 pm at Gaelic Park.
LAST WEEK
The Jaspers began the week with a hard-fought 8-5 loss to No. 8 Virginia before being clipped 11-9 on the road at UMass Lowell.
TWICE IS NICE
For the second time this season, Manhattan took home a pair of MAAC weekly awards as sophomore Luke Hanson was named the circuit's Offensive Player of the Week and senior Michael Zingaro was tabbed as the league's Defensive Player of the Week.
FIRST TIME, LONG TIME
Hanson became the first Jasper to win MAAC Offensive Player of the Week honors since Ryan Payton did so on March 25, 2014. The Long Island native paced Manhattan with three goals, two assists, and a ground ball against No. 8 Virginia and UMass Lowell. He notched a goal, an assist, and a ground ball against the Cavaliers before following that up with two goals and an assist against UMass Lowell. On the year, Hanson has eight goals and eight assists and ranks second on the team with 16 points.
ZINGARO BEING ZINGARO
For the second time this year and the third in his career, Zingaro was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. He recorded 15.0 saves, 6.0 ground balls per game, and posted a .612 save percentage over games against No. 8 Virginia and UMass Lowell. The senior yielded just eight goals to the Cavaliers as they failed to score in double-figures for the first time this year. He finished the game with 18 saves and five ground balls before notching 12 saves and added seven ground balls in a narrow two-goal loss to the River Hawks.
AT THE TOP
Zingaro ranks seventh nationally with a MAAC-leading .585 save percentage and is second in the MAAC and eighth in the nation with 12.0 saves per game. He has also registered double-figures in saves fives times this year and 33 times in his career while yielding less than 10 goals in six of his last eight starts and 12 times in his career.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Thanks in large part to Zingaro, Manhattan has outscored the opposition 11-2 in the fourth quarter over its last four games and the opposition 18-8 in the final stanza this year.
PARKER HITS PAYDIRT
Junior Parker Giarratana had another big week with two goals and three assists, highlighted by registering four points at UMass Lowell. On the year, he paces Manhattan in goals (12), assists (11) and points (23).
ALL-TIME RANKINGS
Giarratana is seventh in school history with 72 goals and 106 points while also sitting 10th with 34 assists. The Sunshine state native also has 22 multi-goal games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
78.3 percent of Manhattan's goals (47-of-60) and 66.7 percent of its assists (22-of-33) have been recorded by underclassmen.
MAAC OPENERS
Manhattan is 7-15, all-time, in MAAC openers and will be in search of its first victory since defeating VMI 16-10 on March 26, 2011.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MONMOUTH
The defending MAAC Champion Hawks own a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.
WITH A WIN ...
The Jaspers would snap Monmouth's eight-game winning streak against MAAC opposition and the Hawks' seven-game MAAC winning streak.
AGAINST THE HAWKS
Senior Andrew Greshman, Giarratana and junior Cole Johnson have all found the back of the net against the Hawks.
SCOUTING MONMOUTH
The Hawks enter with a 2-4 record after dropping a one-goal decision to Hofstra the last time out and own wins over UMass Lowell. Monmouth is paced by junior Hunter Jones (11 goals, 1 assist) and senior Bryce Wasserman (10 goals, 5 assists). Freshman Noah Lode has been impressive in goal, registering a .543 save percentage while yielding just 9.12 goals each time out.
ZINGARO, MACKINNEY EARN MAAC WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Zingaro earned his second career MAAC Defensive Player of the Week accolade after leading Manhattan to a pair of wins over Bellarmine and Lafayette while freshman Sean MacKinney earned Rookie of the Week honors.
* Zingaro dominated behind the pipes to the a tune of a .609 save percentage while averaging 14.0 saves per game. He notched 16 stops in the win over Bellarmine and 12 in the victory over Lafayette. Over the two games, he also did not yield a fourth-quarter score.
* MacKinney tallied seven goals in leading the Jaspers to wins at Lafayette and against Bellarmine. The attack found the back of the net four times in the victory over the Knights, and totaled three ground balls after beginning the week with three scores against the Leopards.
COLLARD IN THE JOURNAL
Freshman Austin Collard was recently featured in the New England Lacrosse Journal and named the publication's Freshman of the Week after scoring a goal at Wagner ... Read the full article by clicking HERE.
UP NEXT
Manhattan will play at Marist on Saturday, March 24 at 1:00 pm.