Box Score Riverdale, N.Y. — Manhattan rolled to a 3-0 win versus Wagner on Sunday. The floodgates opened for the Manhattan offense who outshot Wagner, 10-7, and was bolstered by two goals from senior forward Sami Derrico.
Derrico struck first in the 14th minute when sophomore midfielder Olivia McMaster played a ball to her at the top of the box and Derrico finished the rest. Manhattan scored another one before halftime when senior forward Nicolette Caneda headed in a cross from senior defender Julia Nicholas in the 22nd minute.
Manhattan put the finishing touches on their performance when
Derrico converted again in the 68th minute. At 3-0, Wagner head coach Phil Casella replaced senior goalkeeper Sam Hughes with junior goalkeeper Shae McGinty.
Molly Brunk picked up 5 more saves to bring her total to 16 saves through 4 games. Brunk now has 3 clean sheets and 4 shutouts to her name.
Strength in Seniors
-Sami Derrico scored her 8th and 9th goals of her career in the 3-0 win vs. Wagner. Derrico led Manhattan with 3 goals a season ago and is now well on pace toward eclipsing that total in 2024. She was named the Jaspers Deli Player of the Match following Sunday's game.
-Following
her header goal in the 22nd minute,
Nicolette Caneda now has 3 goals to her name while sporting the Kelly Green and White.
Coach's Angle
"This was very much like it was on Thursday, like a MAAC game, which gets us ready for that," said head coach Brendan Lawler. "We were very happy with the result and the finishing in front of the goal was as composed as can be."
"We
did exactly what we set out to do and that's great from a coaching standpoint when your players are able to execute."
"Sami has had a career with injuries and ups and downs and
she doesn't have to be here right now but she chose to use her fifth year," Lawler said about
Sami Derrico. "For her to be putting in the work to overcome those injuries and to see it pay off is great to see."
"Considering they have never played one second together, with one being a senior who moved positions and the other being a freshman, and then Molly with a year of experience behind them, they are locking it down," Lawler said of the communication between center backs
Lily Bandel and
Maddie Feller and goalkeeper
Molly Brunk.
Sweet 80
Brendan Lawler captured the 80th win of his career in the 3-0 rout of Wagner. Lawler is easily the winningest coach in program history, with second place being Michael Alosco (1991-1996) at 44 wins.
Next Time Out
Manhattan will return to action on Wednesday when they visit Central Connecticut State. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on NEC Front Row.
