PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's soccer team closed out the 2024 home slate afternoon, celebrating Senior Day with a 6-0 victory over Old Westbury. The Valiants carry a 5-4-4 overall record into the final stretch of the regular season, closing out the campaign with three more conference road games as the team looks to secure a postseason berth with a 4-2-2 Skyline mark, currently tied for sixth.
Prior to kickoff, the Valiants celebrated the Class of 2025 and honored
Kelly Barrera (Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester High School),
Alicia Bibi (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough),
Mia Castaneda (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck),
Alexa Fasce (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville High School) and
Caitlin Ward (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown High School) for their contributions to the women's soccer program.
It was a one-sided affair on the pitch as the Valiants outshot a short-handed Panthers squad 46-0. Manhattanville fired 21 total shots on net as the ball remained firmly on Old Westbury's defensive side of the field the entire day.
Castaneda fittingly delivered the keynote to open Senior Day scoring with her team-leading eighth goal of the season, striking first in the 23
rd minute. Six minute later, Ward and Barrera got into the scoring column as both picked up an assist on
Jennay Amaral's (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) second goal of the year to put the home side up 2-0.
A minute later, the Valiants found themselves up by three after chaos in front of the net resulted in a Panther defender inadvertently knocking the ball into her own net. Manhattanville resumed more traditional goal-scoring methods in the 33
rd minute as Amaral fired in a beauty for a shot from a
Caela Vasilkioti (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) pass to make it a 4-0 advantage.
The Valiants struck twice more before the end of the half. Castaneda added on to her stellar season with her ninth goal in the 35
th minute. Ward closed out the dominant opening 45 with her second goal of the year off
Ava Wade's (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) helper. In all, the Valiants ripped off 29 shot attempts before the horn sounded to signal the end of the half.
While Manhattanville was held scoreless in the second half, things could have been more lopsided had it not been for the effort of Kristen Gallagher in the Old Westbury net. The Panther keeper finished with 14 saves and was aided by a team save by a backline teammate in the second half to close out the contest. The Valiants recorded 17 more shots in the final 45, putting eight on net.
Castaneda accounted for a team-high eight shot attempts with four on target. Amaral added six shots, while Ward took five. Fasce,
Megan Leser (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining) and
Alessia Cioffi (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) each ended the contest with four shots apiece.
While neither was tasked with making a save,
Macey Girard (Branford, Conn./Branford) and
Alexa Bennett (Sparrowbush, N.Y./Port Jervis Senior) each put up a scoreless half in net. Girard was credited with the win after playing the first half, improving to 5-4-4 on the year.
Up Next
The Valiants will end the regular season on the road, playing three away games to close out the slate. The first road trip won't be too far from home as the team heads down Anderson Hill Road to take on Purchase on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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