PURCHASE, N.Y. – The tandem of senior Carly Weiss (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and freshman Melissa O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony's) combined for 16 goals and three assists as the Manhattanville women's lacrosse team outscored Western Connecticut State University by a 24-19 margin in a non-conference matchup at GoValiants.com Field on Friday afternoon.
 
O'Mara set a new season high in goals for the second straight game, scoring a game-high nine times with one assist for a season-best 10 points while adding a season-high 14 draw controls. Weiss also had a season-best seven goals with two assists for nine points, while freshman Rosie DeBellis (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) added two goals and a team-high three assists.
 
The 43 total goals are the most in a game in school history, surpassing the 41 scored in Manhattanville's 21-20 victory over Misericordia University on April 13, 2013.
 
Manhattanville (4-4) scored the first two goals of the game and never trailed on Friday, although Western Connecticut State (3-4) tied the game on three occasions. Weiss and O'Mara started the scoring from the eight-meter arc, starting a pattern that saw the home team score eight times on 10 free-position shots over the opening 30 minutes.
 
The teams traded two-goal spurts for the first 11 minutes and remained tied at five before senior Christina Leva (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) put the home team ahead for good at 6-5, and then O'Mara followed a Weiss score with one of her own just eight seconds later to open up an 8-5 lead with 12:47 left. The three goals were part of a big 9-2 run that opened up a 14-7 advantage with 1:42 remaining in the period.
 
The Colonials got back within four (15-11) early in the second half, but Weiss single-handedly put a stop to that with three straight goals in a span of 84 seconds, and then assisted on the first of the game by freshman Grace D'Amico (Washington, Conn./The Gunnery) that gave the Valiants a comfortable 19-11 advantage with 20:51 left.
 
Sophomore Bella Marchiselli (Williston Park, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy Academy) made her return to the starting lineup for the Valiants and responded well, turning aside 11 shots – including nine in the pivotal second half.
 
Manhattanville finished the day with a slight 40-38 edge, but much of the game came down to execution on free-position shots. Manhattanville was excellent all game long from the eight-meter arc, scoring on 11-of-15 attempts on the day, while West Conn was just 5-of-13 in similar situations.
 
The Valiants will finish up non-conference play on Wednesday, when the team travels to Rutgers-Camden for a 4 p.m. match.