PURCHASE, N.Y. – King's (Pa.) College scored the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute and Manhattanville College could not get the equalizer despite several good chances down the stretch as the Valiants dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Lady Monarchs in MAC Freedom women's soccer action on Saturday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.
 
Sophomore Joanna Karp (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK) scored the lone goal of the game for Manhattanville (3-9-1, 0-4-0 MAC Freedom), while Allie Balotin and Amy Barge scored to lead King's (4-8-0, 1-3-0 MAC Freedom) to the win.
 
Manhattanville got on the board first in the 16th minute off the foot of Karp. Senior Alex Carlbom (Gothenburg, Sweden/Kents Hill School) flicked the ball to the side of the six-yard box, and Karp beat a defender to the ball and somehow managed to slot the ball home for her second goal of the season.
 
The Valiant lead did not last long, however, as a corner kick by Barge was cleared away right to the foot of Balotin, who one-timed the ball through a crowd of players in the six-yard box and into the net at the 18:59 mark of the first half.
 
Manhattanville nearly took the lead back in the 29th minute, but a long-range attempt from senior Melissa Barcia (Somers, N.Y./Somers) skimmed off the top of the crossbar. That was the last great chance for either side in the half, as the teams went into halftime knotted at one.
 
King's keeper Jess Schenfeld came up big for her team in the 56th minute, when she dove to her left to just get a hand on a breakaway attempt from sophomore Lauren Vallarelli (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) after the forward beat the defense to a through ball and had a one-on-one chance. That play loomed larger when, in the 74th minute, Barge converted a free kick from the top of the box to put the visitors ahead.
 
The Valiants had a few other good chances in the final minutes, including a breakaway opportunity for Vallarelli with seven minutes to go, but could not get the match back to even.
 
King's finished the game with a 13-9 edge in shots. Valiant senior Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) made six saves for the home team, while Schenfeld made four saves to earn the win for King's.
 
Manhattanville will look to bounce back on Tuesday night, when the team travels to FDU-Florham for a 7 p.m. match with the Devils.