Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – Drew University's Danielle Cowan scored the lone goal of the match in the 52nd minute and that was all the offense needed as the Rangers came away from GoValiants.com Field with a 1-0 victory over Manhattanville College in non-conference women's soccer action on Wednesday night.
 
Cowan's strike was the only one necessary in a defensive battle that featured good goalkeeping play on both ends of the field. Drew's Andee Higgins stopped all four shots that came her way to earn the shutout victory, while sophomore Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) made five saves in suffering the hard-luck loss.
 
Manhattanville came out of the games strong against Drew, getting a shot from senior Erika Deetjen (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro South) in the first minute and taking the first four attempts of the evening, including a pair of saves by Higgins after a great effort from junior Christie DeMarco (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream South) and a cross from classmate Nicolette Diodati (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford).
 
The Rangers' first shot on target did not come until the tail end of the 40th minute, when Diemicke turned aside two attempts.
 
The Valiants went into the half with a slight 5-4 edge in shots, with Diemicke stopping two attempts and Higgins turning aside three.
 
Drew earned the first few offensive chances of the second half, and broke the ice off a somewhat broken play in the 52nd minute. Emma Campbell had her shot from the top of the box deflected toward the near side of the field, where Cowan came onto the ball and lofted it perfectly into the top-right corner for the score.
 
The Valiants nearly evened the score three minutes later, but Higgins dove to her right to capture a good strike off the foot of junior Carolina Pelaez (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining) to keep her team ahead. That was the best chance that the team had in the second half, however, as Manhattanville managed only one shot for the remainder of the contest.
 
Manhattanville will continue non-conference play on Saturday, when the squad travels north to Vassar for a 2:30 p.m. meeting with the Brewers.