BOSTON, Mass. – The Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team opened up its 2016 season on Saturday afternoon, dropping a tough 7-5 game to Simmons College in non-conference action at Winsor Field.
 
Junior Sarah Dalsey (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) led the Manhattanville (0-1) attack, scoring three goals and also grabbing a game-high seven ground balls, causing a game-high six turnovers and controlling two draws. Freshman Kat Reilly (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) also scored the first two goals of her career as well for the visitors in the head coaching debut of first-year Valiant mentor Tricia Molfetta.
 
Simmons (1-0) was led by Analisa Giarrusso with three goals on four shots and Missy Maiewski with two goals and an assist.
 
The home team took control of the game early, scoring four of the first five goals to grab a 4-1 lead with 2:44 remaining in the opening half. All four of the goals came on free-position attempts, as the Sharks went 4-of-8 from the eight-meter arc in the opening frame.
 
Manhattanville got back into the game late in the half thanks to Reilly, who scored two goals in the span of 13 seconds to get the Valiants back within one at 4-3 at the break. Simmons posted a slight 15-12 edge in shots after 30 minutes of play.
 
Simmons again came out strong in the second stanza, scoring three straight goals to open up a 7-3 lead with 20:09 remaining in the contest. Again Manhattanville attempted a late comeback, with Dalsey netting two goals with 10:14 and 1:17 remaining, but the Valiants could get no closer.
 
The free-position arc was the difference in the game on Saturday, as Simmons went 5-of-11 from eight meters while Manhattanville was 0-for-8. Junior Lauren Cassidy (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) kept the Valiants in the contest by making 14 saves.
 
Manhattanville will be back in action on Thursday, when the squad heads to Centenary (N.J.) College to take on the Cyclones beginning at 3 p.m.