Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's soccer team got within a goal in the 64th minute and had chances at an equalizer, but a late insurance goal by the University of Saint Joseph put an end to the pursuit and gave the Blue Jays a 3-1 victory over the Valiants in both teams' 2014 season-opener on Friday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.
 
Senior Tori Lettieri (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) found the back of the net for Manhattanville (0-1-0), but it was not enough against a Blue Jays squad that got goals from Emily Burke, Katie Mirabell and Amanda Montano. Burke and Mirabella also added an assist each for a match-high two points.
 
The final shots favored Saint Joseph (1-0-0) by an 11-8 margin, but the Valiants managed to hold possession for large portions of the contest and generated chances throughout the match. The home team also held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks as well.
 
Manhattanville doubled Saint Joseph in shots over the first 45 minutes (6-3), but it was the Blue Jays who went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. At the tail end of the fifth minute, Mirabella fed a nice through ball to Burke, who beat sophomore Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) low for the opening score of the contest.
 
The Valiants seemed to come alive after that score, getting a pair of good chances on the foot of junior Christie DeMarco (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream South) and generally keeping the ball on the offensive side of the field. Diemicke kept it a 1-0 gave with a nice diving save in the 22nd minute and that was the last shot on goal allowed by the Valiants in the first frame, while USJ keeper Ashley Hebert needed to make two good saves in the final five minutes to keep her team ahead at the break.
 
Saint Joseph again used an early goal to quell that momentum, however, as Mirabella and Burke switched roles with Mirabella scoring her first of the year in the 52nd minute to double the lead.
 
Manhattanville came back with another strong push after the goal, eventually resulting in the squad's lone goal of the contest. Diemicke, playing in the midfield in the second half, fed a good ball down the right flank to junior Nicolette Diodati (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), who crossed the ball into the goal mouth where it was eventually tapped home by Lettieri for the score at the 63:29 mark.
 
With the Valiants looking for the tying goal late, Saint Joseph managed a quick counter and got its third goal of the contest, with Montano putting home a feed from Nicole Aquillo with 3:27 remaining to end the scoring.
 
All three Valiant goalkeepers saw action on Friday, with each ceding one goal apiece. Diemicke made one save in the opening half, while junior Grace Kraemer (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) made three saves on four shots in just over 36 minutes of action. Freshman Julianna Browne (Dover Plains, N.Y./Dover) made her collegiate debut over the final 8:59, stopping one shot. Ashley Hebert made five saves to earn the win for Saint Joseph.
 
Manhattanville will return to action on Sunday, when the Valiants travel to Eastern Connecticut State for a neutral-site matchup against Western New England starting at noon.