HENNIKER, N.H. – Beginning the 2022 campaign over the weekend, the Manhattanville College women's rugby team competed at the New England College Jamboree on Saturday, playing in three matches. The Valiants went 2-1 in the contests, surpassing last season's win total in their first weekend of action.

Match One Recap: Manhattanville 15, Colby-Sawyer 0
The Valiants took to the field for the first time on the season against Colby-Sawyer. As was the ruleset for the entirety of the event, the match was a best-of-one played with two seven-minute halves.

Featuring a youthful roster featuring only two returners from last season's inaugural team, the Valiants blanked the Chargers to collect their first win of the year. A pair of first-half tries by Sydney Natale (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) and Kesai Butler (White Plains, N.Y. /Woodlands) put Manhattanville ahead 10-0 at the end of the first half. Natale would go on to score her second try of the match 50 seconds in to the second half to put the Vals ahead 15-0. The score would hold there for the remainder of the contest as the Manhattanville defense held strong, keeping Colby-Sawyer out of the try zone for the duration of the match.

Match Two Recap: Manhattanville 10, New England 7
After splitting last year's season-series one match apiece, the Valiants squared off with host New England in their second match of the day. In a tightly-contested ballgame, a Manhattanville score with zeroes on the clock gave the Valiants a dramatic win.

Manhattanville struck first as Kaylan Jernigan (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) broke free for a try in the first minute of the contest. The 5-0 Manhattanville advantage held for most of the first half before the Pilgrims were able to score as time expired on Ari Hamilton's try. Rebecca Eaton was then successful on the conversion attempt, sending NEC into the halftime intermission ahead 7-5.

Defense controlled the pace for the second half, as both teams were stymied looking to find a score. As time ran out, Butler was able to fight her way into the scoring zone with her second try of the day to deliver the Valiants a 10-7 comeback victory.

Match Three Recap: Manhattanville 5, Castleton 22
After the pair of wins to open up the day, the Valiants then squared up with Castleton. The Valiants put together a strong effort, but a 12-0 opening run by the Spartans proved too steep of a hill for the young squad to fight back from.

Castelton struck in the opening 30 seconds as Katelyn Dunn found her way into the try zone before Nat Simecek nailed the conversion attempt to put the Spartans ahead, 7-0. Kiki Valentino would add a try later in the half to extend Castleton's lead up to 12-0. With under a minute to play, Tomoka Asakuma (Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan/Yokohama Futaba) was able to put Manhattanville on the board with her first collegiate try, sending the contest to the half with the Valiants down 12-5.

Manhattanville would be held scoreless over the second half while Castleton added insurance tried by Dunn and Aubrey Tetlow, going ahead 22-5 with two minutes to play. The score would hold there until the final horn sounded as the Valiants suffered their first loss of the event and on the season.

Up Next
The Valiants will get a second crack at Castleton when the team returns to the field on Sunday. Manhattanville heads to Vermont to take on the Spartans at 2 p.m. in a traditional sevens matchup.

VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.  #WeAreValiant #GoValiants