Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. – In a game that was tied at 10 with under 14 minutes remaining, Lebanon Valley College scored six of the game's final eight goals to spoil Manhattanville's Senior Day with a 16-12 victory in a Middle Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse matchup on Saturday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.

In a game that both teams needed in order to reach the MAC Tournament, Lebanon Valley (8-7, 7-5 MAC) moves into a three-way tie for fourth with the victory and will move on to the postseason, while Manhattanville (7-9, 6-6 MAC) will finish in a tie for seventh and has its 2011 campaign conclude on the outside looking in.

With both teams desperate for the victory and the subsequent postseason berth, it was a very evenly matched afternoon for both sides. Lebanon Valley posted a small 33-30 edge in total shots and a 28-22 edge in ground balls, while both teams controlled 15 draws on the afternoon.

The Dutchmen were led by their two leading scorers, Hana Krechel and Lindsey Buckman, who combined for 12 goals. Krechel led all players with seven goals and also added an assist for a game-high eight points, while Buckman netted five.

Freshman Casandra Honovich (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and sophomore Melissa Goncalves (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) tied for the team lead with four goals each for Manhattanville, while senior Kristy Guichard (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) also had a season-high four points on two goals and two assists. Four Valiant seniors got on the score sheet in their final game, as Emelda Ogweta (Portland, Maine/Kents Hill) added a goal and an assist, Darby Webber (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) had two assists and Jen Ascencio (Monroe, N.Y./Millbrook School) tallied a goal as well.

Fellow senior Kirstin Betsill (Parkton, Md./Hereford) made 11 saves in goal for Manhattanville, ending her career with a program-record 706 stops. Corinne Palombo turned aside eight shots for Lebanon Valley.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, as neither team could gain more than a three-goal separation. The stats were equally similar, as Lebanon Valley held a slight 19-17 edge in shots and both teams gained 15 ground balls in the 30 minutes of play.

The Valiants were able to strike first in the contest, as Guichard found the net at the 2:52 mark. Lebanon Valley came back with four straight goals, led by two Buckman, to take the largest lead of the half at 4-1 with 21:07 remaining, but then it was Manhattanville's turn to go on a run, as Honovich scored twice and Goncalves knotted one to re-tie the score at four-all.

Krechel and Goncalves engaged in an individual duel for the next five goals, as the players scored three times and two times, respectively, before Taylor Kruter scored from the eight-meter line to put LVC up by a pair, 8-6, at the break.

Manhattanville came out strong in the second half, scoring four of the first six goals to re-tie the score once again at 10-all with 15:39 remaining. However, Krechel took over the game soon after, scoring twice in a span of nine seconds to give the visitors the momentum that carried them on a game-changing 5-0 run.

The Valiants attempted a comeback with less than 10 minutes remaining on a pair of goals by Honovich, but LVC got one more from Krechel and then played an effective game of keep away for most of the final five minutes in earning the victory.

The game marks the end of the 2011 season for Manhattanville and the final game for the team's seven seniors: Ascencio, Betsill, Guichard, Ogweta, Webber, Sami Berardo (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) and Tara Pisano (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph Hill Academy).