Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – Junior Tori Lettieri (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) scored the game's only goal on a chip shot in the 15th minute and the Manhattanville defense, led by freshman netminder Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge), made the score stand up as the Valiant women's soccer team picked up a 1-0 victory over Wilkes in a Freedom Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at a very blustery GoValiants.com Field.
 
The Valiants were outshot by a 14-6 margin on the day, but Manhattanville generated some good scoring chances in the first half and that persistence paid off at the 14:05 mark, when Lettieri sneaked around a defender and lofted a ball high over Wilkes keeper Kate Mahoney and under the crossbar for her first goal of the season.
 
Despite the Lady Colonels turning up the offensive pressure in the final 15 minutes of the opening half, Manhattanville held firm defensively and got two saves from Diemicke to retain the one-goal lead headed into the second stanza.
 
The Valiants nearly got some much-needed insurance in the 69th minute when sophomore Rebecca Breve (Tegucigalpa, Honduras/American School of Tegucigalpa) had a great chance coming down the left side of the box, but her rocket caromed off the outside of the post to keep the game at 1-0. But as it turned out, Manhattanville did not need any extra scoring, as Diemicke made two more saves in the second frame and the Valiant defense kept Wilkes from getting many quality scoring chances on the way to securing the first conference win of the year.
 
Diemicke finished the day with four saves to earn her third shutout of the season, while Mahoney made one save on two shots for the Lady Colonels.
 
Despite the victory, however, Manhattanville (4-11-2, 1-3-2 Freedom) was officially eliminated from postseason contention later in the day thanks to a 2-0 King's win over Eastern. Wilkes (9-5-3, 4-1-1 Freedom) still is assured of a top-two spot in the Freedom Conference Tournament despite the defeat.
 
Manhattanville play its final home game of the 2013 season on Wednesday night, as the Valiants host Eastern Connecticut State for a non-conference matchup under the lights of GoValiants.com Field beginning at 6 p.m.