Box Score FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville women's lacrosse team battled for 60 minutes but could not overcome a tough Farmingdale State squad on the road on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Rams by a 21-13 score in a non-conference matchup.
 
Junior Casandra Honovich (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) led all players with a game-high six goals for Manhattanville (0-4), as all six of her shots on cage found the back of the net, and she also added a team-high five ground balls and four draw controls. Senior Melissa Goncalves (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) chipped in five points on three goals and two assists, while junior Brooke Marcimo (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) scored twice on two shots for the visitors.
 
Farmingdale (1-0) had a trio of players score four times, led by Carly Schneider with four goals and three assists for a game-high seven points. Nicole Marzocca and Jillian Pironti also scored four times apiece for the Rams, while Christy Thoden had two goals, four assists and an amazing 15 draw controls for the home team.
 
Farmingdale State opened the scoring with three straight tallies, as Marzocca and Jackie Kennedy scored 31 seconds apart and Tholen found the net a few minutes later for a 3-0 lead 5:25 into the contest.
 
But after weathering the early storm, the Valiants responded with a strong stretch of play, taking 10 shots to Farmingdale's three and scoring four of the next five goals to even the contest. Honovich scored twice around a Schneider tally to start the run, and sophomore Mallory Bakst (Morganville, N.J./Marlboro) followed with her first career goal from the eight-meter line to make it a 4-3 score with 17:57 left in the half. Honovich then tied the game at the 16:09 mark off a feed from Goncalves.
 
However, that was the only sustained stretch of offense Manhattanville could muster in the first half, as Farmingdale ended the frame with a 6-1 run to take a 10-5 lead into the intermission.
 
After 30 minutes, Farmingdale led in shots but not by much, posting a 20-13 edge in attempts. The Valiants struggled from the eight-meter line, going just 2 of 8 on free-position attempts in the first half, while Farmingdale also held a decisive 13-3 edge in draw controls, led by seven alone from Thoden.
 
The visitors started the second half with an unassisted tally from Goncalves to get back within four, but Farmingdale quickly snatched back momentum by scoring seven of the next eight goals to open up a 17-7 lead with 20:49 remaining in the contest.
 
After sophomore Meghann Haggerty (Centerport, N.Y./Harborfields) and Marcimo scored to make it a 17-9 score with 17:21 to go, the teams went scoreless for over seven minutes before Janisha Sanchez re-upped the Ram lead to nine with 10:02 left on the clock. The teams traded goals the rest of the way, with Honovich scoring four times for Manhattanville to keep it an eight-goal game at the final whistle.
 
Sophomore Kirsten Shaughnessy (Le Center, Minn./LeSueur-Henderson St. Peter) had another busy outing in goal for the Valiants, making 13 saves on 34 attempts on target. Farmingdale finished the game with a 42-23 advantage in total shots, while also controlling 27 of the 35 contested draws.
 
Manhattanville will return to Long Island for its next game, as the Valiants head back out to SUNY Old Westbury on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Panthers.