RIVERDALE, NY (4/17/04) - The SJU men's lacrosse team finds itself squarely behind the eight-ball in the MAAC playoff picture with today's 17-8 loss at Manhattan. With the defeat, Saint Joseph's falls to 4-9 overall and 3-4 in the MAAC. SJU would need a win in two weeks over Mount St. Mary's and help from three teams ahead of them to qualify for the postseason.

Manhattan (6-4, 4-1 MAAC) took the early 1-0 lead by a Brian Murray unassisted goal at the 13:01 mark in the first quarter. The Hawks responded with a sophomore Keegan Wilkinson goal that evened the score at 1-1 with 7:41 remaining in the quarter. Two Justin Otto goals gave Manhattan the lead at 3-1. Saint Joseph's finished the scoring for the quarter, with a goal by sophomore Andrew Four, making the score 3-2.

Junior Matt Reynolds tied the game up with a goal to start the second quarter, 3-3 at the 13:25 mark. Manhattan bounced back with three straight Jasper goals, by Nick Cacciatore, Greg Lewis, and Otto, giving Manhattan the 6-3 lead going into the half.

After a freshman Mike O'Neill goal for St. Joe's, that cut the lead to two, 6-4, Manhattan tallied two goals, by Jeremy Marrano and Otto, giving the Jaspers the 8-4 edge. Senior Mike Pagilaro netted two goals for the Hawks in the third quarter, but goals by Lewis and Marrano gave the Jaspers the 10-6 lead at the end of the third.

Senior Brian Mullan netted a goal for the Hawks cutting the lead to three, 10-7, but the Jaspers responded with three straight goals, which included goals by Chris Oppito, Lewis and Eugene Tanner. Pagliaro would net one more goal for Saint Joseph's before Manhattan netted four straight, two by Otto and one each by Cacciatore and Keith Powers.

The Hawks were led by Pagliaro, who scored three goals and dished two assists for five points. Sophomore Travis McDonnell made 14 saves in net for the Crimson and Gray.

St. Joe's is idle until facing off with Mount St. Mary's on May 1 on 7:00 p.m. for Senior Night.