Nick Faria
With conference tournament play looming, the Manhattan University Jaspers soccer programs each found important conference wins over the weekend.
On Oct. 25, the women’s team celebrated their senior class by throttling Merrimack College 4-0. Junior midfielder Arancha Antunes got the scoring started in the first half with a goal in the 37th minute.
Antunes ended up tallying an additional assist just 10 seconds into the second half when she found Kaylee Stowell for her fourth score of the year.
The three points from Antunes was not only a career high, but it allowed the women’s team to inch even closer to a spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, or MAAC, conference tournament in the beginning of November.
More importantly, it allowed the Manhattan seniors to walk off their home field with a victory.
“Great result and great way for our seniors to finish their career on Gaelic Park,” Jasper’s head coach Brendan Lawler said after the win via the program’s website. “They got us the result we needed to keep this playoff push alive going into the final game of the season.”
The standings loomed large in Manhattan’s victory. They currently sit in a tie for fifth place in the MAAC standings with the Canisius University Golden Griffins. Due to their prior 2-1 loss to the Golden Griffins, they do not own the tiebreaker, which means the Jaspers would be the sixth and final seed for postseason play.
A win in their season finale would clinch the final spot in the 2025 conference tournament. A loss or a draw would open the door to the Siena University Saints to sneak in for the final playoff spot.
Speaking of MAAC tournament play, the men’s team is also in the thick of their own playoff push.
Manhattan University outlasted Canisius on Oct. 25 in a key matchup. Henry Hamilton scored his third goal of the season in the 50th minute that was all the Jaspers needed to preserve the win and send their senior class home happy.
“Very proud of the boys today,” senior goalkeeper Ludvig Malberg said. “We were focused from start to finish and made sure to take the three points home today. Well-deserved points that we needed from this trip, a real fight where we never backed out and made sure to do the job.”
Much like the women’s team, the men’s soccer squad is in a battle for final seeding in the MAAC. The men are tied with Marist College for the sixth and final spot in the tournament with three games play.
Manhattan faces off against Marist on Nov. 1 — a game that could either clinch or ruin a playoff spot for the program in the first year of the Tom Giovatto era.
Whatever the case, it’s expected to be a photo finish to the conference tournament for both the women’s and men’s team at Manhattan University.
Keywords
Manhattan University soccer,
Jaspers,
MAAC tournament,
women’s soccer,
men’s soccer,
conference playoffs,
Gaelic Park