ALBANY, N.Y. – A back-and-forth battle in the state's capital ended with the Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team on the short end of a 15-13 game against Sage on Tuesday afternoon. With the loss, the Valiants fall to 1-2 to begin the 2023 season.

Fresh off being named the Skyline Conference Defensive Player of the Week earlier in the day, Colleen MacNeil (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) posted her third-straight five point game to open the year as she scored four times with an assist. The senior captain added a team-leading 12 draw controls with two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.

Despite McNeill and Gianna Mott (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) combined for eight total goals for the Valiants, the Gators outlasted Manhattanville in the game that saw seven different tied scores. Sage outscored Manhattanville 5-3 over the final quarter to earn the win, the first in the three career games against the Valiants.

The Valiants scored twice in a 27 second span in the third minute of the game to begin the scoring. Mott's career game began with her first of four goals 2:26 into the game before Meghan DeBellis (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) followed soon after. After the Gators logged their first tally of the game from Grace Hines on a free position shot, Kaci Pierce (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) put the Valiants back up by two. Sage scored twice in the final 3:33 of the quarter from Hines and Marissa Key to bring things even at 3-3 through the opening 15 minutes of play.

Sage carried their scoring into the second with Ashley Hearn giving the Gators their first lead of the game. The teams traded the next four goals with Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) and Pierce scoring for the Valiants. With just over five minutes remaining in the half, a Marissa Key goal put Sage up by two at 7-5. MacNeil got the Valiants back within a goal, scoring from Pierce with 4:22 left in the half. Maddison Walter reestablished the home squad's two-goal advantage, but Mott ended the first half scoring with 88 seconds remaining with a free position goal to send the Valiants into the intermission down a goal, 8-7.

Hines continued her stellar offensive game for Sage with the first goal of the third quarter, but the Valiants were finally able to even things up once again after Mott scored from MacNeil before MacNeil fired home a shot from Cabral with 7:10 left in the third, brining the score to 9-9. Walter would temporarily put Sage back ahead, scoring on a player-up opportunity following a Manhattanville yellow card, but the lead lasted just 25 seconds before MacNeil found paydirt once again with her third of the game, sending the game into the fourth tied at 10-10.

The teams remained trading blows to begin the fourth as the Valiants erased a pair of Sage leads. After Hines scored 53 seconds into the final quarter to put the Gators up, MacNeil notched her fourth tally with a player-up goal with 12:48 remaining. Walter would be the next to strike for the Gators but Mott had an answer of her own with 8:41 to play to bring the score to 12-12. Hines continued to be a thorn in the side of the Valiants as she scored her fifth of the game after a Valiant yellow card. The goal was the first of three straight by the Gators as Sage built up a 15-12 lead with 1:19 remaining. DeBellis added one final Manhattanville goal in the closing seconds from Mott as the Valiants dropped their second-straight game.

Jacee Russello (Hope Valley, R.I./North Kingstown Senior) made nine saves in net for the Valiants. The rookie netminder added a team-high five ground balls in her third game in goal.

Mott finished atop the team's defensive statistics, causing three turnovers and earning three ground balls in conjunction with her strong offensive game. Erin Flaherty (Rockland, Mass./Canterbury School) made her season debut, finishing with two grounders alongside MacNeil along with a caused turnover.

Up Next
The Valiants head home on Thursday to host Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 4 p.m.

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