PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team officially tied the best start in program history on Saturday afternoon, as the Valiants earned their fourth-straight win to begin the season with a 12-10 victory over Sage.
The Valiants are 4-0 for the second time ever in the team's existence, equaling the program's best record to open up the year from 2009.
Getting to the victory was far from a cakewalk as the Valiants had their hands full against a very gritty Sage team. Manhattanville built up a pair of five goal leads during the duration of the game, but the Gators refused to go away as they battled down to the final minute in this one.
The offensive production was led once again by
Kerry Carr (New Hartford, N.Y./Millbrook School) as the veteran midfielder scored four goals for the third time in four games. Carr brings her season goal total up to 14 while also leading the team in total points with 20.
The Valiants also received a pair of goals from each of
Marisa D'Angelo (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur),
Maura Kelly (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) and
MacKenzie Orf (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Lakeland). It was the first two goals of the season for the junior Orf, while D'Angelo remains another top scoring threat for the Valiants with 13 tallies now on the year.
Manhattanville scored the first five goals of the game through the first period, looking poised to run away with things early. Carr struck twice with a pair of free position goals through the opening 4:12 of play. With 6:44 left in the first quarter, Orf collected her first tally of the season from
Abbey Playle (Reading, England/Leigh High School). A minute and a half later, Carr collected a first quarter hat trick with her third goal in less than ten minutes into the contest. It would be Orf striking once again with 1:26 to play from
Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) to put Manhattanville up 5-0 as the quarter began to wane. The Gators would make the most of the closing 86 seconds as Ashley Hearn broke up the run with 45 second left in the quarter, sending the game into the second with Manhattanville up 5-1.
The Gators carried the momentum from the late score into the second, scoring twice from Caroline Musinski to open up the quarter and cut the Valiant lead down to two. Sage continued to threaten after getting a player advantage following a Manhattanville penalty. Cabral, however, was able to draw a foul and earn a free position attempt, scoring on her shot to put the Valiant back up by three with five minutes to play. While Manhattanville would kill off the duration of the penalty with no harm done, the Gators would get one more goal before halftime courtesy of Marissa Key from Grace Hines, pushing the score to 6-4 for Manhattanville through 30 minutes.
Hines would begin the scoring in the second half with a goal 3:04 into the third to cut the Valiants' lead down to a single goal. Carr's fourth of the game reestablished some breathing room for the time being at the 11:04 mark, but Musinski's third goal of her own brought the Gators within one again with 7:36 left in the third. Manhattanville would regain control to lose out the period, going on a 4-0 scoring run to stake claim to another five goal lead. After D'Angelo buried a feed from Kelly at 6:53, Kelly scored her own 31 seconds later. D'Angelo struck again with four minutes left before earning the assist on
Ally Petricca's (New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial) final tally of the quarter to put Manhattanville up 11-6.
Key and Kelly would traded goals to begin the fourth, but even with the Valiants up by five with less than ten minutes to play, Sage kept on swinging. The Gators scored three times, with a goal and pair of assists coming from Hines, to make it a two goal game with two minutes remaining. The Valiants called timeout to regroup and would hold strong for the remainder of regulation to hold on for the 12-10 victory.
Manhattanville caused a season-high 14 turnovers in the win. Petricca, Playle and
Kaci Pierce (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) would each end the game with three caused turnovers a piece to lead the defensive effort. Playle would also earn 10 draw controls with three ground balls, while Petricca's five grounders paced the Valiants on the day.
Britney Sirota (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) improved to 4-0 on the season as she made 10 saves to secure the win. The Valiants' senior goalie holds a 7.75 goals-against average on the year.
Up Next
The Valiants aim to set a new best start in program history on Tuesday when they return to play. Manhattanville is back on the road to take on Wilkes at 5 p.m.
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