Riverdale, NY - After a scoreless first half, Manhattan erupted for three goals in the second half on their way to a 3-0 win on Senior Day over Saint Peter's. The Jaspers were able to develop a rhythm in the first half which served as a precursor to their second half barrage, highlighted by goals from Johan Velez, Dorian Bounab, and Oswald Annang.
The Jaspers' opened the scoring in the 63rd minute when Simon Busch initiated the counter attack and found an open Velez down the middle. Taking a few dribbles to his left, Velez waited patiently before unleashing a shot with his left from around 10 yards out to put the home team up. The goal was Velez's third on the season and first during MAAC play.
Looking to waste no time, the Jaspers capitalized on their momentum with another goal in the 66th minute from Dounab, who was the beneficiary of a serendipitous bounce in the box before finding the back of the net. The goal was Bounab's first at Manhattan after debuting for the Jaspers in the spring.
Manhattan added one more for good measure in the 82nd when Annang converted from the penalty spot after a handball infraction on Saint Peter's. The moments leading up to the penalty included a sizzling shot from Ronaldo Da Silva in the box that was blocked.
"All the boys up front contributed and we trust all of them to produce," Manhattan Head Coach Jorden Scott said.
The Jaspers dictated the terms of possession and tempo in the first 45 minutes, and came close to breaking through on a couple opportunities. In the 25th minute, Harry Bark paced down the left side of the field and served up a ball to Velez, whose one-time shot sailed just left of the goal. Just prior to that, in the 24th minute, Omar Torres ran on to a loose ball 20 yards out and fired off a one-time shot that was inches away from finding the upper right corner.
"Our energy in the first half was excellent," Scott said.
After a quiet first half, Saint Peter's came out aggressive in the second half and almost made Manhattan pay if not for the heroics of Manhattan goalie Danny DiMarco. In the 56th minute, Saint Peter's Alex Costa forced DiMarco into making a tough save to knock it out behind the net for the corner. The Peacocks immediately threatened again off the ensuing corner knick when a header from Tom Climpson was denied by DiMarco thanks to another acrobatic save.
In the 62nd minute, the Peacocks hit the crossbar off a free kick by Jamie Davis and the momentum swung back into Manhattan's favor permanently when Velez broke through a minute later.
DiMarco finished with five saves and now has three shutouts under his belt this season. Saint Peter's outshot Manhattan 11-9 but the Jaspers had 6-3 advantage in shots in the first half.
Before the game, Thomas Hitchins and Simon Busch were honored as part of the Senior Day festivities.
"We were up for this because it was less about us and more about these two guys," Scott said about giving his two seniors the celebration they deserved. "This is the type of game you never forget so this was for them."
"I'm proud to have made it to this day and I think it was lovely to get the win for us," Busch said when reflecting on his career at Manhattan."
Hitchins spoke about how this day speaks to the culture he and Busch have helped create for the program.
"We're paving the way for future classes to come in so I think that's been our role this year," Hitchins said. "Obviously it's been great sharing the past four years with Simon and the other boys I've been with."
Manhattan now hits the road for games at Monmouth (7-4-2, 5-1-0 MAAC) on Wed., Oct. 27 and at Quinnipiac (7-6, 2-4 MAAC) on Sat., Oct. 30.
