Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – In a match that featured only two goals but a myriad of missed opportunities for more from both sides, the Manhattanville women's soccer team let a late lead slip away and had to settle for a 1-1 (2OT) tie with Eastern in a hard-fought Freedom Conference matchup on Tuesday night at GoValiants.com Field.
 
Sophomore Christie DeMarco (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream South) put Manhattanville (3-9-2, 0-1-2 Freedom) up early with her fifth goal of the year in the 18th minute, but the lead did not hold up as Lydia Peachey found the back of the net for Eastern (3-8-2, 1-1-1 Freedom) with 4:54 remaining in regulation to even the score.
 
After the teams went over 17 minutes without a shot from either side, DeMarco injected some excitement into the contest with her fifth tally of the year at the 17:27 mark. Sophomore Carolina Pelaez (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining) won a ball in midfield and played a through ball behind the defense for DeMarco, who beat her mark to the ball and slotted it past goalkeeper Elayna Simpson for the score.
 
The action finally picked up after DeMarco's score, with both teams getting quality chances. Eastern's Gennifer Vandeventer nearly tied the game in the 37th minute, but her flick toward the far post was met with a diving save by freshman Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge), and another shot by Stephanie Le was stopped by Diemicke with the resulting loose ball barely cleared away from danger by sophomore Christie Freer (Southington, Conn./Southington). Conversely, DeMarco nearly made it 2-0 in the 40th minute with a free kick from 30 yards that caromed off the crossbar and out.
 
Despite the late action, there were only six shots total in the first half (4-2 Eastern) and the Valiants took that 1-0 lead into the second stanza.
 
The momentum died down for a lot of the second half, as the Valiants attempted to sit back and keep their lead. The Eagles' Emily Roquemore nearly knotted the score in the 72nd minute with a header that hit the post and somehow stayed out, and it looked like it might be Manhattanville's night in the 83rd minute when Laura Martin was left all alone in front of the Valiant net but somehow missed all the empty space and instead hit Diemicke to keep it 1-0 Valiants.
 
But the luck did not last forever, as Peachey poked a throw-in past a Valiant defender and floated a shot from 25 yards out over the head of Diemicke and under the crossbar for her first collegiate goal.
 
Manhattanville actually controlled play for the most part after the Peachey score, with DeMarco just missing a go-ahead strike in the final minute of regulation and the home team posting a 5-1 edge in shots during the extra time. However, neither team was able to connect again and the sides settled for the tie.
 
Eastern finished the night with a 15-9 edge in total shots, but Diemicke came up big for Manhattanville with 11 saves and Simpson made five stops for the visitors.
 
Manhattanville will be back in action on Saturday, as the Valiants face off with King's (Pa.) in another very important Freedom Conference matchup beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Edwardsville, Pa.