PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville Valiants jumped out to a 4-1 lead over FDU-Florham, but were unable to hold on as the second-placed Devils escaped Purchase with a 9-7 victory. Leading the Valiants offensively was sophomore Colin Morrissey (Shelton, Conn./St. Joseph) who picked up his second hat trick of the season.
 
The game started out well for the Valiants, who took a 1-0 lead on an early goal from freshman Tyler Bentrewicz (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville). The Devils responded less than three minutes later when senior midfielder Jake Higgins sniped the first of his two goals on the game at the 9:44 mark.
 
Just 17 seconds after the Devils tied the game, senior Tony Ramos (Stratford, Conn./Saint Joseph) scored the first goal of his Manhattanville career to give the Valiants a 2-1 lead. Morrissey extended the lead to two when he scored his first of the game with just 1:04 remaining in the first quarter before senior Corey Balog setup Andrew Murray (Yonkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) for his first goal of the game and a 4-1 lead just 15 seconds later.
 
The Devils would go on to score 5 goals in the second half while Morrissey's second goal at the 8:19 mark and senior Jack Polack's goal with just 1:15 remaining, sending the teams to halftime tied, 6-6.
 
Goals were scarce in the second half, with only four being scored in total. Unfortunately for the Valiants, FDU-Florham scored the only two goals of the third quarter and the first goal of the fourth quarter before Morrissey finished his hat trick with just 41 seconds remaining in the game.
 
The loss moves Manhattanville to 0-3 in Freedom Conference play this year. The team will have to regroup for Saturday's contest away at Misericordia. Manhattanville will need to win their remaining three games in hopes to earn their first Freedom Conference tournament berth.