Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. –  Senior Jen Ascencio (Monroe, N.Y.) finished her field hockey career with a goal on Senior Day as the Manhattanville field hockey team defeated Division II Mercy College, 7-0, to conclude the 2010 season on Friday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.

Ascencio was not the only Valiant to finish the season strong, as five other players finished with a multi-point performance, including six points (two goals, two assists) from sophomore Kayla Meenan (Warminster, Pa.). Sophomore Lindsey Stebenne (Barrington, R.I.) had a pair of goals for four points, while junior Alyssa Coughlan (Rye, N.Y.) had a goal and an assist.  Junior Alyssa Nardone (Closter, N.J.) also scored and sophomore Melissa Goncalves (Holtsville, N.Y.) had two assists as well for the home team.

Ascencio scored the first goal of the contest in the 20th minute, and that was all the home team would need to pick up its ninth win of the year. With the score, she finishes her career in third place all-time in program history with 73 points. 

Meenan added the next two goals for the Valiants in the 25th and 36th minute, respectively. Her first tally came off an assist from Coughlan with a nice pass to the back post. She hit the back of the net for the second time in the contest after finishing a cross from freshman Alyssa Tourdot (Blue Bell, Pa.) for her team-leading 11th goal of the season. Meenan finishes the season second in the program's single-season record books with 33 points, while her 11 goals tie her for tenth and her 11 assists tie her for third on the program's single-season lists as well.

Manhattanville took a four-goal lead in the 43rd minute as Coughlan added her seventh of the year with a penalty stroke goal after a Maverick defender touched the ball with her foot inside the goal mouth. Stebenne scored the next two goals for Manhattanville, with Meenan aiding her on both tallies on long crosses from the wing to the middle of the circle.  The Valiants ended the season with a final goal from Nardone inside the circle off a nice pass from Goncalves.

The Valiants outshot the Mavericks 22-2 in the contest along with a 12-1 edge in shots on goal. The main theme of the contest was penalty corners, as Manhattanville had 19 opportunities to score on the short corner as opposed to just one for Mercy. After freshman Melissa Grant (Hampton, N.H.)started the match, classmate Amy Hilton (Pittsburgh, Pa.) came on early and made one save in the contest to earn her second win of the year. 

Manhattanville (9-10, 2-5 Freedom) finishes the 2010 season with a two-game improvement over last year and will continue to rebuild under a young squad heading into next season. Though the team will lose Ascencio to graduation, the team will return three seniors for next season in Coughlan, Nardone and Colleen Macedo (Norwalk, Conn.).