Box Score Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Manhattanville sophomore Amanda DeChent (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) scored three times as the Valiants handled Western New England easily by the score of 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.

The Valiants got off to a rapid start as sophomore Alyssa Tourdot (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) scored 40 seconds into the contest to give the Valiants an early 1-0 lead. Tourdot received a deflection off of a Golden Bears player as classmate Julia Esposito (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) placed the ball towards the net.

Just under two minutes later the Valiants were on the board once again as Tourdot sent a pass towards DeChent who tipped it in past Western New England starting keeper Kaitlyn Hall. For DeChent it was a sign of things to come as she netted her sixth goal of the season.

Several more minutes ticked off the clock when senior Alyssa Coughlan (Rye, N.Y./Rye) sent a pass across the goal mouth that was tipped up into the air. DeChent was in the right place as she batted the airborne ball in between the small opening between Hall and the right post to give the Valiants the 3-0 lead just 8:52 into the contest.

After the goal the skies opened up and it began to rain steadily. The two teams struggled to find a handle on the ball and no more scoring occurred for the remainder of the first half.

After the break the Golden Bears made a change in goal as Emily Mastrapaolo took to the net after Hall had allowed the first three Valiant goals while making three saves along the way.

At the 47:34 mark junior Kayla Meenan (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) took a hard shot that was stopped initially by Mastrapaolo but the rebound caromed to DeChent, who was able to put it into the open cage to open the Valiant lead to 4-0. Her third goal of the game gives DeChent eight on the year and currently leads the team.

Western New England didn't go away quietly as they gained a second wind and rattled off three consecutive shots in the 64th minute of the game. On the third shot Western New England was able to break the shutout by Manhattanville sophomore keeper Amy Hilton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kents Hill (Maine)) to trim the lead to 4-1.

The remaining 4:12 ticked off the clock and the Valiants as well as Hilton had their seventh win of the season. With the 7-1 start, Manhattanville has now tied the best eight-game start in program history, tying the 1980 team that also started the season 7-1.

The Valiants on the game outshot their opponents from Western New England by a 26-7 margin, with the shots on goal at a 12-2 margin. Penalty corners were also in favor of the crimson and white as the Valiants took 11 to the Golden Bears' four.

Manhattanville (7-1) will return to Freedom Conference action this Saturday when they travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to take on King's (Pa) this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Western New England (2-8) will continue on the road when they take on Nichols on Friday.