PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – Saint Joseph's (L.I.) College outscored Manhattanville College by an 8-2 margin over the opening 30 minutes on the way to a 18-9 victory over the Valiants in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday evening at Danzi Stadium.
 
Sophomore Carly Weiss (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) led the Valiants with five points on four goals and an assist, while junior Olivia Drew (York, Maine/York) matched her career high with three goals and classmate Jenna Nance (Glendale, Calif./Glendale) also had three points on two goals and an assist.
 
Manhattanville (5-4) actually held the advantage in shots on the game, outshooting Saint Joseph's by a 35-32 margin, including a 22-16 edge in the second half. But Eagle netminders Lindsay Ramos and Darrien Diaz combined to make 17 saves to keep the home team ahead.
 
The Valiants could not overcome a slow start offensively, as the Eagles scored eight of the game's first nine goals to take an 8-1 lead with 7:34 left in the first half. Ramos also helped her team's cause by making nine saves to lead her team to an 8-2 advantage at the break.
 
Manhattanville got two goals from Weiss and one from Drew early in the second half to get within five at 10-5, but Saint Joseph's scored the next five goals – including two from leading scorer Jenna Kelleher – to build up an insurmountable advantage.
 
Junior Lauren Cassidy (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) got the start between the pipes for Manhattanville, making six saves in the full 60 minutes.
 
The Valiants will begin MAC Freedom play on Saturday, when the team travels to Misericordia University for a 1 p.m. matchup with the Cougars.