PURCHASE, NY – Rallying from a five-goal first quarter deficit, the Manhattanville College men's lacrosse team drew within one goal on four separate occasions, but fell one score short in the end, dropping a 12-11 decision to Mount St. Mary College on Tuesday night.

Sophomore T.J. Caccavo (Carlsbad, Calif./San Marcos) finished with a team-high three goals for Manhattanville (5-2) while classmates Gianni Ciffone (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) and Will Duval (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay) combined for four goals and three assists. Graduate student Andrew Murray (Yonkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac), senior Tyler Bentrewicz (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville), junior Tristan Green (Easton, Conn./Joel Barlow), and sophomore Nick Delia (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South) each added a goal for the Valiants, while junior Soya Goto (Rye, N.Y./Rye) added a team-high four ground balls and game-high seven caused turnovers. Danny Kugler had a game-high five goals for Mount St. Mary (4-4), while Anthony Kearns and Dylan De Meo combined for four goals and five assists.

Kugler scored the first two goals of the game before Caccavo put Manhattanville on the board at 6:24 of the first quarter. After the Knights responded with four unanswered goals, Caccavo added his second of the quarter with 18 seconds left, closing the deficit to four.

Tough defense in the second quarter from both teams yielded just seven shots on goal in the first 14 minutes, with the Knights' Christopher Doerr and freshman Mike McGrath (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River), who relieved sophomore Jason Frezza (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Portledge) after the first quarter, stopping all seven. With 48 seconds left before the half, Bentrewicz scored for the third straight game, pulling Manhattanville back within three.

After Kugler added his fourth of the game 65 seconds into the third quarter, Duval and Murray scored their fifth and 18th of the year, respectively, trimming Mount St. Mary's lead to two. Ciffone answered a Nicholas Graziano score with two goals in 1:34, cutting the gap to one, but Kugler added his fifth of the night with four seconds left in the quarter for a 9-7 Mount St. Mary lead heading to the fourth.

Caccavo completed his hat trick at 13:19 of the final quarter, but Tristan Earle and Kearns scored 48 seconds apart, putting the Knights back up by three. Delia answered Green's goal with one of his own as Manhattanville pulled back within one at 4:54. After De Meo put Mount St. Mary back up by two at 2:43, Duval added his second of the game with 45 seconds left. A Knights turnover off the ensuing face-off gave the Valiants one final chance to tie, but Doerr saved a shot from Ciffone with 12 seconds left, and Manhattanville was unable to put another shot on net.

The Valiants four-game home-stand continues next Monday at 7:00 p.m. against the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's of Long Island.