RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Battling back from a four-goal first period deficit, the Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team remained undefeated in the 2023 season with a 15-12 win over Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday night. The victory continues what has been the best-ever start in program history as the team improved to 7-0 overall and 1-0 to begin conference play.
With three goals in the first half, Marissa D'Angelo notched her 100
th career point. The accolade comes just four days removed from teammate
Maura Kelly (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) reaching the century club in Saturday's win over King's. D'Angelo's 100 points came via 82 goals and 18 assists, with 25 tallies so far in this season.
D'Angelo would finish the game with four goals altogether, joined by Kelly and
Kerry Carr (New Hartford, N.Y./Millbrook School) with four tallies each on the night. Kelly finished the game with five total points, adding an assist with her four goal night.
It would be Kelly opening up the scoring 1:18 into the action to give the Valiants an early lead, but the host Dolphins responded with five unanswered goals to run out to a 5-1 lead with 3:53 left in the opening quarter. Facing their biggest deficit of the season so far, the Valiants fought back as they scored three times in the closing three minutes to close the gap to a single goal. D'Angelo and
Kaci Pierce (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) scored goals just six seconds apart at 2:59 and 2:53 before Carr closed out the period with her first of the night to cut the Mount Saint Vincent advantage down to 5-4.
The attacks continued to score often throughout the second quarter as the teams combined to score 10 times. The Dolphins reestablished a two-goal lead three times but the Valiants had response tallies following in short order. Ava Starace scored first in the second before Carr repdonded 30 seconds later. Starace would put her team up by two once again before D'Angelo's second of the night came from
Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) with a woman-up goal. After Alicia Rodriguez, D'Angelo earned the first half hat trick and the 100
th point of her career off a pass from Kelly to once again pull the Vals back within one with 5:39 left in the half. It would be the first of three straight Manhattanville goals as Carr scored unassisted to tie the game before Kelly netted a tally from
Ally Petricca (New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park Memorial) to reclaim their first lead since the opening score with 4:43 left in the half. The Dolphins has one last punch in them for the half as Marisa Misuraca and Rodriguez scored before the halftime horn sounded to put the Dolphins up 10-9.
In the second half, scoring slowed down significantly. The Valiant defense took control and shut down the Dolphins as Manhattanville outscored CMSV 6-2 over the final 30 minutes of play. D'Angelo and Cabral scored to open up the third and put Manhattanville back in front, with Cabral's goal coming shorthanded. After Ashley Teal tied the game up at 11-11 with 1:47 left in the quarter, Carr scored her fourth of the night with 49 seconds on the clock to kickstart a 4-0 run that firmly swung momentum in the favor of the visiting team. Then, 16 seconds later,
Sydney Natale (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) recorded her first collegiate goal to put the Valiants ahead by two entering the final quarter.
The Valiants received two more goals from Kelly in the fourth, including a shorthanded tally to begin the quarter, to go up 15-11. The Dolphins would be held to just one goal in the period as Alyssa Latorre scored with 2:40 remaining in regulation, but the Valiants held firm to protect the lead and secure win No. 7.
Britney Sirota (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) made a season-high 12 saves to earn the win as she remains perfect in the cage this season. The senior netminder's goals-against average sits at 7.00, still the lowest in the conference, as her save total on the year moves to 61.
Petricca finished the game with five ground balls to lead the Valiants.
Brysha Schmidt (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./The Millbrook School) and
Abbey Playle (Reading, England/Leigh High School) finished with three each. While contributing heavily on the offensive end, D'Angelo and Carr would both cause a pair of turnovers. Carr also added five draw controls, finishing only second on the night to Kelly's eight.
Up Next
Following a perfect record in March, the Valiants will look to carry their success as the calendar flips to April. Manhattanville returns to action on Saturday at noon at Merchant Marine in a rematch of the 2022 Skyline Semifinals.
VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants
