POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – St. Bonaventure's memorable season came to an end Saturday morning in the MAAC Championship Game as Manhattan prevailed in a defensive battle, 8-7, on the campus of Marist College.
From the second quarter on, the Bonnies were fighting from behind, but they were nearly able to complete the rally in the final moments.
Manhattan led 8-5 with 5:28 remaining following Justin Malpica's goal.
The Bonnies were not done, though, first pulling within two on the second goal of the day from Conor Murphy with 2:56 left. Bona kept the pressure on and got within one with 40 seconds to go as senior Brett Beetow completed his hat trick.
St. Bonaventure (11-4) won the next faceoff thanks to work from Austin Holley, with possession sealed on the groundball from Andrew Hersey.
Following a Bonnies timeout, SBU had two shot attempts in the waning seconds, but both sailed wide as Manhattan held on to clinch the league title.
"Our seniors, they've been doing this for 1,347 days and the moment is in front of you, but we just came up a little short," St. Bonaventure head coach Randy Mearns said. "We're super proud of our guys and their effort all year. Hats off to Manhattan, they will represent the conference well in the NCAA Tournament."
Defense ruled the day from the outset, with the early scoring even coming from a Bonnies defender.
Freshman Aiden MacDonell scooped up a groundball and hustled more than half the length of the field, firing a shot into the net for his first career goal and a 1-0 Bona's lead just over two minutes in.
That would be the only score of the first quarter as Bonnies keeper Brett Dobson kept the Jaspers out of the net until the 13:48 mark of the second.
From there, though, the Jaspers would score the next three goals, leading by a pair as the Bonnies were slowed by yet another injury to their attack, this time when Cian Collins was forced from the game after a first quarter injury.
Bona would get one back late in the half on a goal from Jake Emmick, but Manhattan would take a 4-2 lead to the locker room at intermission.
Another Bona's freshman gave the Bonnies momentum back out of the break as Murphy notched his seventh goal of the year to pull within one just 53 seconds into the third. The freshman would finish with three points.
The Bonnies and Jaspers then traded goals, beginning with Manhattan posting its fifth of the day from Jack Shanley before Beetow logged his first of the year with 5:03 remaining in the penultimate period.
Manhattan (8-6) quickly answered, though, to go ahead by two heading for the fourth.
Murphy struck for his second goal with 2:56 to play and the Bonnies won the ensuing faceoff, but that possession would end on a wayward shot attempt. The league's regular season champions would battle until the final whistle.
Malpica was named the tournament MVP and finished with a hat trick including the game-winner. Brendan Krebs made five saves in net.
For the Bonnies, Dobson and Jackson Rose were named to the All-Championship Team. Dobson made 36 saves in two games while Rose delivered six goals in Thursday's semifinal win.
The two teams finished even in shots, 35-35, with the Bonnies owning a 15-5 advantage in the final quarter. Both teams committed 14 turnovers while the Bonnies went 20-for-21 in the clear and Manhattan was successful in 22 of 24 attempts.
Brady Wijbrandts posted six groundballs and Hersey scooped up four. Trent Grainger scored nine faceoff victories.
For the Bonnies, it was an incredible run within one step of the NCAA Tournament just four years removed from their first game following the rebirth of the program. St. Bonaventure boasts 20 seniors who have been with the program since the first practice entering the program's first season and while each has the option to return with an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA post-pandemic, Saturday's contest will be the final game in Brown and White for some of Bona's fourth-year roster members.
"The seniors went on a journey not knowing where it was going to go. They knew the first year or two it would be tough. They knew this would be hard to do," Mearns said. "With each passing day, we just gain more experience and more confidence. We continue to get better as a program. For the guys moving on to the next chapter of their lives, we're forever grateful for what they've done for this program. They're so special. It's amazing to see a group of guys who came in not knowing what to expect and for them to go through this grind together and figure things out has been an amazing experience."
