2019 Men’s College Lacrosse Year In Review: #51 Manhattan Jaspers

With the 2019 college lacrosse season complete, it’s time to look back at how all 73 teams did during the season, along with an early look at each squad for 2020.

Note: These are not end of season rankings.

Here’s our last five Year In Review posts we’ve done:

• #56 Utah
• #55 Fairfield
• #54 UMass Lowell
• #53 Hofstra
• #52 Harvard

To see all of our posts, check out the 2019 Year In Review section on the site.

Let’s continue our 2019 Year In Review!

#51 Manhattan Jaspers

Conference: MAAC
2019 Record: 6-8 (2-5 in MAAC)
Head coach: Drew Kelleher (4th Season)

Statistical Leaders

Goals: Parker Giarratana (20)
Assists: Luke Hanson (25)
Points: Luke Hanson (37)
Faceoffs: Robert Carroll (120-of-254; 47.2%)
Ground balls: Robert Carroll (49)
Caused turnovers: Kelson Borisenko (21)
Goals against average: Brendan Krebs (10.13 GAA)
Save percentage: Brendan Krebs (56.9%)

Personnel Losses

Key seniors departing: A Parker Giarratana (20 Gs, 16 As, 16 GBs, 4 CTs), D Dylan DeMuro (3 CTs, 17 GBs), FOGO Robert Carroll (47.2% FOs, 49 GBs, 3 CTs, 1 G, 2 As), M William Ratchford (5 Gs, 13 GBs, 4 CTs)
Senior scoring departing: 46 of 197 points (23.3%)
Senior starts lost: 25 of 140 (17.9%)

Season Summary

Manhattan didn’t make the MAAC Tournament once again in 2019. But that’s alright for them as the Jaspers saw their fourth consecutive year of improvement, one that correlates with Drew Kelleher’s entire run as head coach. Their six wins were the most since they won seven games in 2010.

The season started with a pair of one-goal finishes, a victory to start the season against Wagner before a loss against VMI after the Keydets rallied in the fourth quarter. After a Lafayette loss, the Jaspers got their first conference victory against first-year program St. Bonaventure and kick-started a three-game winning streak that also included a comeback effort over Bryant and Hartford.

However, that momentum was lost with Manhattan losing five of their next six games, including a three-game losing streak that was highlighted by a tough one-goal loss to eventual conference champion Marist. But their penultimate game was one of their highlights of the season, as the Jaspers surprised many in the MAAC with a 7-6 upset over Canisius. Manhattan trailed 6-2 with 4:28 left in the first half before scoring the final five goals in the game, all before the fourth quarter. Even though they were already out of MAAC Tournament at the time of the win, it was a good end to the season as they also snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Golden Griffins.

The offense was led once again by Parker Giarratana, as well as midfielder Luke Hanson who registered at least 35 points on the year. Junior Brandon Grinnell and sophomore Sean MacKinney put up at least 20 points for Manhattan, with Trevor Pelletier, CJ Scharf, and Jake Nicolosi all reaching double-digit point figures.

Junior Kelson Borisenko was the most impactful defenseman on the team with 21 caused turnovers and 25 ground balls. Borisenko, senior Dylan DeMuro, and sophomore Luke Pacher started all 14 games on defense, as well as sophomore goalie Brendan Krebs.

Looking Ahead

The Jaspers did not have a lot of major senior contributors this past season, with Giarratana, DeMuro, and FOGO Robert Carroll being the three main guys from that group. Manhattan brings back nine of their top 10 scorers that also includes Justin Malpica and Tadhg O’Riorden.

An underrated part of Manhattan’s team is their defense. They were the top man-down defense in the country for the second consecutive season at 83.3% with associate head coach John Odierna spearheading those efforts. Rising senior Rob Johnson is another key returning player who had 11 caused turnovers last year as an LSM, as could classmate C.J. Mazzocchi as a short stick defensive midfielder. Krebs also returns in goal after becoming the third netminder in program history to earn All-MAAC honors. With Carroll gone, Nick Galioto could be a returning option at the faceoff X, a place that will need a little improving with a 43% win percentage as a group.

Manhattan will look to take the next step as a program entering the next decade. They hope that it includes a trip to the MAAC Tournament.