Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Manhattan preview and game thread

The Orange are back in the Dome against the Jaspers for their first game in nine days.

More than a week after their win over rival Johns Hopkins, the Syracuse Orange are finally back in action tonight in the JMA Dome to host the Manhattan Jaspers.

The in-state clash is set to face off at 7 PM on ACC Network Extra.

• All-time series: 2nd meeting; Syracuse leads, 1-0
• Last meeting: Syracuse W, 16-3, on February 9, 2024
• Syracuse this season: 5-2 overall, 0-0 ACC
• Manhattan this season: 4-3 overall, 2-0 MAAC

Manhattan is off to a 4-3 start this year and is on a two-game winning streak after back-to-back conference wins over Merrimack and Mount St. Mary’s.

Earlier this season, they had a six-goal loss to mutual SU opponent Vermont and an overtime loss to undefeated Fairfield.

Scouting Manhattan

The Jaspers are a team characterized by solid defense and goaltending, underwhelming offense and dismal face-offs.

As a team, they rank a respectable 23rd in the country in scoring defense (9.14 goals against per game). However, their offense doesn’t reach double-digits in scoring average either, ranking 54th in the country in scoring offense (9.71 goals per game). Their face-off situation has been the bleakest of all, coming in at 63rd in the country at just a 42.9 percent success rate.

The star of the show for the Jaspers is graduate student goalie Connor Hapward, whose plus-60 save percentage is good for seventh-best in the country. He’s played almost every second this season and has a 9.55 GAA to go along with his 60.5 save percentage.

Last year’s trip to the Dome was the first start of Hapward’s career, and he impressed with 12 saves in a game the Orange otherwise dominated. That’s not too shabby for a first-time starter.

The defense in front of Hapward is led by Matthew Pantorno (12CT) and Hunter Newman (11CT), both of whom rank very highly nationally in caused turnovers per game. Pantorno is tied for 25th with 1.71 per game while Newman is tied for 34th with 1.57 per game.

The face-off situation has been rough sledding for Manhattan, as they are well below 50 percent as a team on the season. They split the duties primarily between Keith Fraser (.486, 36-of-74) and Casey Klossner (.408, 29-of-71).

Their offense has been a struggle, only reaching double figures in three of their seven games. Attacker Connor Engel (13G, 7A) leads the team in goals, points and ties for the lead in assists. He’s also their most accurate shooter with an impressive 44.8 shooting percentage.

Fellow attacker Sean Shelko (10G, 7A) is their second-leading scorer, while midfielders Drew Hiner (9G, 4A) and Kelly DuPree (10G, 3A) quickly round out their double-digit scorers through seven games.