Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – Manhattanville held a five-goal lead early in the second half, but visiting Worcester State stormed back to score nine of the game's final 10 goals to deal the Valiants a tough 14-11 defeat in non-conference women's lacrosse action on a chilly Friday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.
 
Worcester State's Kalia Chase led all players with five goals, followed by Molly Kilday with four tallies and Marissa Irwin with three. Jaclyn Lawlor also had four points on two goals and two assists, while Jackie Conners posted a team-leading three helpers.
 
For Manhattanville, senior Melissa Goncalves (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) led all players with six points, scoring four times to move into a tie for sixth place on the school's all-time list and adding a pair of assists. Junior Casandra Honovich (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) scored four times and sophomore Saba Naji (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) added two goals for the Valiants as well.
 
The Valiants looked good for most of the opening 30 minutes, controlling play and scoring almost at will against the Lancer defense. Goncalves started the scoring with two goals in less than 25 seconds to give the Valiants an early lead, and the teams traded goals for the next 20 minutes as the home team remained on top.
 
After Chase scored her first of the game to make it 6-5 Valiants, Manhattanville scored four straight times – twice by Honovich and once each by Goncalves and Naji – to give the squad a 9-4 lead with 36 seconds left in the half. But Worcester State took some of that momentum back with a last-second goal, as Chase scored again with seven ticks left to make it a 9-5 game at the half.
 
Goncalves seemed to calm that momentum with her fourth of the game 2:18 into the second half, but the Manhattanville offense went south after that and the defense struggled to contain the Worcester State offensive attack. The Lancers outscored Manhattanville 9-2 in the second half of play, getting three goals from Irwin and Chase and two more from Kilday while also receiving some big stops on the other end by goaltender Alex Chisholm, who made five saves in the second stanza.
 
Four straight Worcester State goals made it a 10-9 Valiant lead with 17:44 to go, but Honovich responded 19 seconds after a Kilday score to make it an 11-9 game with 17:25 left. However, the Lancers controlled four straight draws and converted them all into goals to take a 13-11 lead, and Lawlor added another tally with 11:02 left to give the visitors a 14-11 edge.
 
Manhattanville had a few chances on goal after Lawlor's score, but Worcester State gained possession with 9:49 left on the clock and did not give up the ball until there was less than 10 seconds remaining on the clock, as the Lancers stalled their way through the rest of the game to secure the win.
 
Worcester State finished the game with a 27-24 edge in shots, while also holding slight advantages in ground balls (19-17) and draw controls (14-13). Chisholm played a big role in her team's comeback, making five of her seven saves in the second half, while sophomore Kirsten Shaughnessy (Le Center, Minn./LeSueur-Henderson St. Peter) suffered the loss for the Valiants despite making eight saves.
 
Manhattanville (1-5) will return to action next Friday, as the Valiants travel up to Massachusetts to take on Curry beginning at 6 p.m.