PURCHASE, N.Y. – Eastern University netminder Cortney Andes made 14 saves, including eight in the second half, to help her Eagles defeat the Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team by an 11-8 score in Freedom Conference action on Saturday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.
 
In a battle of two evenly matched teams, Manhattanville (4-7, 1-1 Freedom) put 22 shots on goal compared to 18 for Eastern (4-9, 1-2 Freedom), but the Valiants had trouble solving Andes in the second half. Sophomore Lauren Cassidy (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) made seven saves at the other end of the field, but it was not enough for the Valiants to remain unbeaten in conference play.
 
Anna Charlebois led Eastern offensively with a game-high five goals, followed by Julie Haggan with three and Jenn McKelvie with two. Senior Meghann Haggerty (Centerport, N.Y./Harborfields) paced the Valiants with three goals and an assist, followed by freshmen AnnaMarie Nardone (Thornwood, N.Y./Westlake) and Jennifer Machin (Brunswick, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) with two goals apiece.
 
The game started well for Manhattanville, as Haggerty scored her first of the day 59 seconds into the contest and then added a second from the eight-meter arc to give the home team a 2-0 lead 2:40 into the contest. After Charlebois scored twice to tie the score, the Valiants got two goals from Machin to keep the Eagles at bay and retain a 4-3 lead.
 
Eastern went on a 3-0 run to take its first lead of the game, with two Charlebois tallies followed by McKelvie's first of the game at 25:24 of the first half. Sophomore Sarah Dalsey (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) got the Valiants back within one at the half with her 23rd goal of the year with 1:56 remaining.
 
Nardone got on the board to start the second half, knotting the score at six 4:58 into the frame, but again Eastern responded with three straight goals to take a 9-6 lead with 17:20 on the clock. Nardone made it a 9-7 game with her second of the day, but goals from Charlebois and Stephanie Hogan put Eastern up by four with 3:21 to go and Manhattanville had limited offensive opportunities the rest of the way.
 
The Valiants finished the day outshooting the Eagles, 30-26. Eastern posted a slight 23-21 edge in ground balls while Manhattanville controlled 11 of 21 draws.
 
Manhattanville will look to get back on the right track on Wednesday, when the team travels to Madison, N.J., to take on Freedom preseason favorite FDU-Florham beginning at 7 p.m.