PURCHASE, N.Y. – Graduate student Andrew Murray (Yonkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) and sophomore Nick Delia (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South) tied for the game-high with six points as the Manhattanville College men's lacrosse team moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2007 with a commanding 15-5 win over Western Connecticut State University in the Valiants' home opener on Tuesday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.
 
With the team's first-ever win over WCSU in six all-time meetings, Manhattanville (3-0) has won its first three games of the year for the first time since 2007 and is one win away from tying the best start to a season in school history set back in 1991.
 
Murray and Delia paced the Valiant offensive attack with five goals and an assist each. Sophomore Gianni Ciffone (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) added four goals and an assist to go with three ground balls and a caused turnover. Junior Soya Goto (Rye, N.Y./Rye) also had a big game, winning 8-of-15 faceoffs while grabbing eight ground balls and causing four turnovers, while senior Jake Cayton (Stratford, Conn./Stratford) added five ground balls and four caused turnovers as well.
 
Both teams found the net once in the opening quarter, with Ciffone's first of the game negated by Eric Caldwell's first of the game for WestConn. But the tide turned in the second stanza, when the Valiants outscored the Colonials 5-1. Delia scored back-to-back goals to put the home team up for good, but the big goal game 59 seconds later when Murray netted his first while down a man to again give Manhattanville a two-goal lead with 4:49 left. Ciffone struck again with 3:37 on the clock and Delia scored a man-up goal with 32 ticks left on the clock to take a 6-2 lead into the half.
 
After Caldwell started the second half with his second goal of the game, Manhattanville scored the final three goals of the third quarter to take full control, with Murray scoring twice and junior Erik Sparby (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) scoring his fourth of the year in between.
 
The Colonials scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to give the visitors a little hope, but Manhattanville promptly shut the door with the final six goals of the game. Ciffone, Delia and Murray all scored two goals each and had one assist each to close out the contest for the home team.
 
Manhattanville finished the game with a 39-27 edge in shots, including a 25-15 edge in shots on goal. Sophomore Jason Frezza (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Portledge) turned aside 10 shots for the third straight game to pick up the victory. The Valiants also excelled on special teams, as the man-up unit scored four times while the man-down unit kept WCSU scoreless in four chances.
 
The Valiants are slated to return to the field on Saturday afternoon against Bard. Check GoValiants.com or follow Manhattanville Athletics on social media for any potential weather-related changes to this weekend's slate.