A second-half penalty kick propelled Manhattan College to a 2-1 victory over the Quinnipiac men’s soccer team last Wednesday afternoon at Fordham University. Tommy Lenhardt converted the penalty kick for the Jaspers with 19:40 left in the second half following a Quinnipiac foul inside the 18-yard box.
Manhattan scored its first goal of the match 22:53 into the first half off of a Quinnipiac turnover. Dan Shemanski took advantage of the giveaway and the Jaspers took a 1-0 lead into halftime, despite being outshot 7-3.
“We played well and controlled the tempo, especially in the first half. It is frustrating when we outplay our opponent and don’t get the result we are looking for,” head coach Eric Da Costa said.
Quinnipiac tied the score with a goal 13:36 into the second half. Tyler Sheikh scored his first goal in a Bobcat uniform on an assist from Francis Mavula.
That was all the scoring the ‘Cats could muster as Lenhardt’s goal turned out to be the game winner. Manhattan goalie John Ciano made six saves for the Jaspers and Quinnipiac goalkeeper Paul Fleck made three saves of his own.
With the loss the ‘Cats dropped to 0-3 on the season while Manhattan improved its mark to 1-4-1.
According to Da Costa, the team’s performance was characteristic of their season thus far. “We had lots of opportunities but were unable to capitalize,” he said. “Defensively, we made too many individual mistakes and Manhattan took advantage of them. We need to convert our chances and cut down on our mistakes.
The Bobcats tied the University of Hartford, 1-1, in double overtime Saturday. On Monday, the team traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a Tuesday night meeting with the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels are currently ranked first in the nation according to Soccer America and boast a record of 5-1-0.
“We have made progress in every match thus far and need to continue to play well. Our match against UNC will really show us what the top level of competition is in the country, because that is where we want to be. We are really excited,” Da Costa said.
