Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Manhattanville field hockey team trailed by as many as three goals against Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday night before making a comeback that fell just short, losing to the Warriors by a final score of 5-4 in non-conference play.
 
Manhattanville (2-6) allowed three goals to ECSU (4-1) in the first 10 minutes of the game before gathering some offensive rhythm in pursuit of a comeback.
 
At the 8:30 mark, the Warriors had already tallied three goals against sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Hughes (Kintnersville, Pa./Palisades). With all the momentum on the ECSU side, the Valiants were able to answer in the 17th minute, as freshman Lisa Maxwell (Wassenaar, Netherlands/Maerlant Lyceum) scored her first collegiate goal on an assist from sophomore Gina Moricone (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains). The goal from Maxwell was the last of the first half, as the Valiants trailed ECSU 3-1 headed into the half.
 
The Warriors added an additional goal in the opening minutes of the second half when it was Alex Kailgren scoring her second goal of the game, giving ECSU a 4-1 lead after 42 minutes of play.
 
After the goal from Kailgren, the Valiants started to heat up offensively, scoring three goals in a five-minute span, starting with a goal from sophomore Amanda Cirocco (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley) in the 43rd minute. Down by two, Manhattanville eventually climbed within one when it was graduate student Kirsten Savage (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) finding the back of the net in the 45th minute. The Valiants were not done there, as junior Rylee McGuire (Grantham, N.H./Lebanon) connected on the equalizer in the 48th minute, tying the game at four.
 
With the game tied up at four, it appeared to be anyone's game in the final minutes of play. Unfortunately for Manhattanville, ECSU's Paige Schneider eventually connected on the game-winning goal in the 68th minute, putting the Warriors up by one with just two minutes remaining. Despite the Valiants outshooting ECSU 5-4 in the second half, the Warriors prevailed in the end, winning by a final score of 5-4.
 
In net, Hughes tallied four saves on 12 ECSU shots while Warriors goalkeeper Samantha Scavo collected three saves on seven Manhattanville shots.
 
The Valiants will next play on Saturday in the annual William Smith Classic against host William Smith at 11:00 a.m. Live video and live stats are available via GoValiants.com.