Box Score GENEVA, N.Y. – The Manhattanville field hockey team put a huge scare into NFHCA #9 William Smith on Saturday, but the Valiants could not pull off the upset and eventually fell by the score of 5-4 in a wild opener at the William Smith Classic.

The Valiants were determined to hand #9 William Smith their first loss of the season but failed to close out the Herons, as the visitors allowed a 4-3 lead to slip away late in the contest. Manhattanville got goals from seniors Amanda DeChent (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) and Julia Esposito (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich), sophomore Sharon Konfederak (Buenos Aires, Argentina/The Washington School) and freshman Bregje Smits (Bussum, Netherlands/Willen de Zwigger College) in the contest.

The Herons struck first in the 11th minute on a goal by sophomore Cory Connolly, but this didn't fret the Valiants who later answered with two first-half goals of their own to take a one-goal lead into halftime.

Esposito put Manhattanville on the board after connecting off a shot-pass from Smits on a penalty corner in the 24th minute. The Valiants took a 2-1 lead into halftime after DeChent scored a brilliant goal off a backhand sweep in the 31st minute, tallying her 17th goal of the year.

The ninth-ranked Herons were not prepared for a deficit at halftime, but they answered in the second half. The home team came out firing in the first five minutes and took a 3-2 lead after seniors Melanie O'Connor and Margarett McConnell connected for goals.

However, the Valiants also refused to go down without a fight. Konfederak answered one minute later after McConnell's score to tie the game up at three in the 41st minute. The Valiants regained the lead 4-3 in the 45th minute after Smits blasted a shot from the top of the arc and into the net.

Things were looking great for the Valiants until the 54th minute, when the Herons answered to tie it up off a goal from senior Taylor Cappello. The game went back and forth but was eventually finished off by the Herons in the 65th minute when a penalty stroke was awarded to the Herons and eventually became the difference as McConnell scored the game-winner on her second goal of the game.

Manhattanville senior goalie Amy Hilton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kents Hill (Maine)) made 11 saves on 23 shots to keep her team in the game throughout. Manhattanville was outshot 23-16 in the match but definitely gave the Herons a scare despite seeing its four-game winning streak come to an end.

The Valiants will play tomorrow against St. Lawrence on the second day at the William Smith Classic at 11:00 a.m. Live stats can be found on GoValiants.com.