Box Score UNION, N.J. – Kean got all its offense from five different players and Manhattanville could never fully overcome a late first-half surge as the Valiants fell by the score of 17-12 to the Cougars in a non-conference women's lacrosse matchup on Friday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
Junior Maggie Howley (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) tied for the game high in goals with four for Manhattanville, along with the four each from the Kean trio of Lyndsey Cannon, Marisa DeAngelis and Julie Knodt. Valiant junior Melissa Goncalves (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) had four points as well with three goals and an assist, while sophomores Casandra Honovich (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and Brooke Marcimo (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) also had three points apiece for the visitors.
Knodt, Cannon and teammate Stephanie Tocko all tied for the game high with five points, with Tocko scoring twice and adding a game-leading three assists. Ciara Mastrodomenico had three goals as well for the Cougars, as the five Kean players accounted for all 17 goals, five assists and 29 shots for the home team.
Kean was the aggressor early in the opening frame, taking advantage of its opportunities and scoring three of the first four goals to take a 3-1 lead with 18:30 to go in the half. But Manhattanville came back strong, establishing a possession advantage and getting scores from Howley and Marcimo to even the score with 10 minutes remaining.
The Valiants kept at it, winning the subsequent draw and firing three straight shots toward the Cougar net. But soon after, the team went into an offensive lull and Kean took full advantage, scoring five times in less than four minutes to open up an 8-3 lead.
The Cougars were looking to add onto their lead in the final minute of the frame, but the Valiants forced a turnover and that resulted in a score at the other end by Goncalves with just six seconds left on the clock, giving Manhattanville some momentum headed into the second half.
After 30 minutes, the shots were 14-13 on favor of Kean, with nine of those shots coming in the final seven minutes as Kean built up its late lead.
After Cannon opened the second half with a free-position score to make the score 9-4, the Valiants got consecutive tallies from Goncalves and Howley to get back within three with 19:37 left in the match. However, a DeAngelis tally only 28 seconds later put a damper on the Valiant momentum, and two more Cannon scores suddenly brought the Kean lead back up to six at 12-6 with 13:52 remaining.
The visitors attempted a late charge, scoring four times in five minutes late in the frame, but the last-ditch effort ran out of time as the Valiants fell by the five-goal margin. Honovich had two, while Howley and senior Nicole Catapano (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) had one each for the Valiants late in the contest.
Manhattanville ended the contest with a slight edge in shots, taking 30 to Kean's 29. The Cougars were more accurate with their attempts, however, as they put 24 on goal compared to 19 for the Valiants. The visitors also had the edge in draw controls (18-12) thanks to Howley, who led all players with seven.
Junior Mary Rose Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Millbrook School) played the bulk of the game in goal for Manhattanville, making seven saves and allowing 14 goals in 48:30 after taking over for senior Liz Cooper (Old Greenwich, Conn./The Forman School), who allowed three scores in the first 11:30 of the afternoon. Kean's Jules Keeley made seven saves and allowed all 12 goals in net to earn the win.
Manhattanville (0-3) will head south for Spring Break tomorrow, with the team's first game in Hilton Head, S.C., scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Denison. Kean (2-1) will travel to The College of New Jersey for a Tuesday night matchup starting at 7 p.m.
