DALLAS, Pa. - Despite an excellent performance in goal from senior Lauren Cassidy (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside), the Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team could not convert enough chances at the other end of the field as the third-seeded Valiants fell to second-seeded Misericordia University by a 9-4 score in the MAC Freedom Tournament semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at Mangelsdorf Field.

Misericordia (12-3) advances to the MAC Freedom championship game, where the Cougars will face top-seeded FDU-Florham on Saturday. Emily Connell led all players with three goals for the home team, while Amy Roth and Lexee Willey scored twice each.

Junior Jenna Nance (Glendale, Calif./Glendale) recorded a team-high three points for Manhattanville (11-6), scoring twice and adding an assist. Classmate Carly Weiss (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) had a goal and an assist and junior Katie Zambrotta (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) scored once as well for the visitors.

Both goaltenders showcased themselves well on the day. Cassidy finished with 11 saves to keep her team in the game, but Misericordia's Katie McLoughlin also had a good day with eight stops in the win.

Manhattanville struggled with the Cougar defense for much of the opening half, turning the ball over 16 times in the first 30 minutes and converting on only eight of 17 clear attempts. Misericordia scored the first four goals of the game, taking a 4-0 lead with 10:47 to go in the half, but Cassidy made several excellent stops to keep her team within striking distance. Nance finally got the visitors on the board on a free-position attempt with 8:55 on the clock.

The Valiants rallied late in the frame, getting two goals in the final 72 seconds to make it a two-goal game at the half. Nance fed Weiss for a close-range score with 1:12 to go, and Nance added her second of the game just 28 seconds later, as she corralled a nice feed from senior Sarah Dalsey (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) and beat McLoughlin.

Misericordia scored two goals in 18 seconds to start the second half, re-opening a four-goal lead at 7-3 with 27:49 left. The Valiants got one back on a nice catch and shoot from Zambrotta less than three minutes later, and they had some quality scoring chances in the next few minutes, but the visitors could not make any further dent into the deficit the rest of the way.

Misericordia ended the game with a 24-17 edge in shots and also caused 13 of Manhattanville's 29 turnovers, which helped provide the difference in the game.

Manhattanville has its excellent season come to a close with a loss, as the Valiants tied the program single-season record with 11 wins and advanced to the postseason for the first time in four seasons. The team's five-game improvement from last season also is the largest single-season wins increase in program history as well.