Boxscore

RYE, N.Y. – Sophomore Amanda DeChent (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) tallied three points including the game-winning marker at the 27:12 mark of the first period as the Manhattanville field hockey team cruised to a 4-0 shutout over Mercy in Thursday afternoon's season opener. Rains from Hurricane Irene earlier in the week forced the game to be moved to the campus of the School of the Holy Child in Rye, N.Y.

DeChent wasn't alone in the scoring column as sophomore Megan Greene (Jamestown, R.I./North Kingstown) added a pair of goals in the second half, her second coming off a pass at the top of the circle from DeChent. Junior Kayla Meenan (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) finished off the scoring at the 49:56 mark of the game off a direct cross by sophomore Britney Themistocles (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston).

Leading the way in shots was Meenan, who had six, four of which were on target.  She was followed by DeChent and Greene with three apiece.  Six others registered their first shots of the season including the trio of seniors on the squad: Alyssa Coughlan (Rye, N.Y./Rye), Colleen Macedo (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Alyssa Nardone (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Regional Demarest).

The Valiant defense stymied the chances from Mercy, holding the Maverick offense to only two shots on goal the entire game. Led by sophomore defenders Julia Esposito (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) and Meg Wittner (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna), who each made several key defensive blocks throughout the game.

Manhattanville outshot Mercy in the first half, 13-2, and finished the game with an 18-3 margin. The difference of the contest was penalty corners, as Manhattanville had 13 opportunities to score on the short corner as opposed to just two for Mercy.

Collecting her first win of the year was sophomore Amy Hilton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kents Hill (Maine)), who had a quiet day with just two saves. For Mercy, Kristen Znaniecki took the loss, making nine saves in the losing effort.

Going back to last season the Valiants have now held Mercy scoreless through 140 consecutive minutes, after shutting out the Mavericks 7-0 in the season finale in 2010.

Looking ahead, Manhattanville (1-0) will take to the road for their next five contests. Their first stop takes them to The College of New Jersey (1-0), which is ranked eighth in the preseason NFHCA Div. III National Poll. Mercy will continue their season-opening road trip, with their next stop taking them to Long Island where they take on Adelphi on Saturday.