MADISON, N.J. – FDU-Florham's Brittni Calleo scored twice in the first 15 minutes and the Devils were able to hold off the Manhattanville College women's soccer team the rest of the way in dealing the Valiants a 2-1 defeat in MAC Freedom action on Tuesday night at Robert Shields Field.
 
Manhattanville (3-10-1, 0-5-0 MAC Freedom) held a 12-7 edge in total shots and outshot the Devils by a 7-2 margin in the second half of play, but the early deficit proved to be too much to overcome. Sophomore Joanna Karp (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK) scored her second goal in as many games for Manhattanville in the first half to get the visitors back within a goal.
 
The Valiants put the first two shots of the match on target, as attempts from senior Melissa Barcia (Somers, N.Y./Somers) and sophomore Evaline Diaz (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) required saves from FDU keeper Annie George. Less than a minute after Diaz's shot, Calleo took a through ball from Kristina Ragolia and beat senior keeper Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) at the 9:06 mark. Calleo then had some luck on her second goal of the game less than five minutes later, as her corner kick managed to miss a crowd in front and find its way into the net to put FDU up 2-0 at the 14:01 mark.
 
Manhattanville cut the lead in half in the 34th minute thanks to Karp, who received a pass from freshman Joann Guinta (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) and went in on a breakaway against George, putting the ball home for her third goal of the season. Karp is the sixth Valiant to score three goals this season, marking the first time since 2009 that six Valiant players had at least three goals in the same year.
 
The Valiants had the better chances in the second half, limiting FDU-Florham to just one shot over the final 35 minutes of play. However, only two of the team's seven second-half shots were on goal and both were turned aside by George as the home team escaped with the win.
 
Diemicke made two saves for Manhattanville, while George made five saves to pick up the win for FDU-Florham.
 
Manhattanville will play its final home game of 2016 on Saturday, as the Valiants honor their five graduating seniors with Senior Day before a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against Delaware Valley University at GoValiants.com Field. The first 50 fans to check into the game with the Castle Crew mobile app will be eligible for a free water bottle courtesy of the Athletics Department.