PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's soccer team outplayed The College of Mount Saint Vincent Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 2, at home on GoValiants.com Field, outshooting the Dolphins 11 to three on net en route to the 3-1 Skyline Conference victory.
 
The Valiants (5-5, 3-0 Skyline Conference) were picked third in the Skyline preseason poll and are certainly playing as such in the early part of the conference schedule. Sophomore Ashley Hayes (Springfield, Ore./Thurston), normally a defender, played up against CMSV (3-4-1, 0-2 Skyline) and led Manhattanville with a pair of goals – her first two of the season – in the first half as they picked up the win. Hayes now has 13 points – two goals and nine assists – in 2019.
 
Her first goal of the day came in the 12th minute when senior Bella Fotino (Montgomery, N.Y./Valley Central) fired a pass across the midfield line to lead classmate Samira Davis (Stockholm, Sweden/Kungsholmens Gymnasium) on a two-on-one with the keeper. The Dolphins goalie came out of the net and played Davis with a strong tackle, but the Valiant forward tapped the ball past the CMSV keeper just in time to find a wide open Hayes for the empty-net score.
 
The second goal of the day, this time in the 21st minute, came following a cross from a tough angle off the foot of junior Ashley Pacheco (Throggs Neck, N.Y./Pelham Prep) from the far corner. Hayes crashed the net and tapped the ball in for her second of the day. Mount Saint Vincent narrowed the gap to 2-1 early in the second half following a strong shot in the 56th, but Pacheco picked up a goal of her own in the 85th to give Manhattanville some insurance and, eventually, seal the deal. Davis got off a nice shot attempt that was stopped by the Dolphin keeper, but Pacheco put the rebound past for her seventh score of the season, good for second on the team.
 
The squad will now play five straight contests – four against Skyline foes – away from home before returning to GoValiants.com Field for Senior Night on Tuesday, Oct. 22 against St. Joseph's College-Long Island. First up for the Crimson and White will be St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn this Saturday afternoon, Oct. 5, at 12:00 p.m. in Brooklyn, N.Y.