THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – A 12-1 scoring run by the Privateers that spanned across three quarters of play doomed the Manhattanville College women's lacrosse team on Friday night as the Valiants felt 16-5 at SUNY Maritime in the team's conference opener. The loss drops Manhattanville's record to 3-5 overall with an 0-1 start in Skyline play.

What started off as a defensive battle through the opening 25-plus minutes saw the teams trade six total goals to open up play. Meghan DeBellis (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) struck first with her 14^th goal of the season for Manhattanville, a free position tally four minutes into the game. The Privateers pulled even off Jenna Lesiewicz' tally with 8:23 left in the quarter before Gianna Mott (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) responded 47 seconds later to put Manhattanville back on top. Maritime took their first lead of the game with the next two goals, getting scores from Gabrielle Nicolosi and Lesiewicz again with 4:42 left in the quarter. It was the final score of the first period as the Privateers carried a 3-2 lead into the second quarter.

The score held stagnant for more than 10 minutes into the second before Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) broke through with her 17^th goal of the season on another free position attempt. With just one goal scored in 10:19 of the period, it appeared as though a low-scoring game was in store for the rest of the way. The Privateers, however, had other plans, as Maritime scored five goals in the final 3:50 of the half to stake claim to an 8-3 lead seemingly out of nowhere.

The late surge was enough for the Privateers to carry to the finish line as the Valiants were limited to just two goals in the second half. An Erin Flaherty (Rockland, Mass./Canterbury School) goal from Katherine Stahl (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) in the third and a DeBellis free position score in the fourth was all for the Valiant attack on the night as the Privateers added eight more goals over the final 30 minutes to double their score and earn the 16-5 win.

Jacee Russello (Hope Valley, R.I./North Kingstown Senior) made nine saves in the cage for the Valiants, allowing 15 goals in her 54:54 on the field. Paz Hassan-Contreras (Lansing, Mich./Okemos) played five-plus minutes in the first quarter, surrendering a goal on the lone shot she faced.

In addition to scoring her first goal of the season, Flaherty was one of Manhattanville's top defensive players as she led the squad with four ground balls while causing three turnovers. Only Mott forced more Privateer turnovers with four causes. Mott also finished with three ground balls, a total matched byt the defensive tandem of Catrina Chinetti (Hyde Park, Mass./Boston Latin Academy) and Sydney Natale (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich).

Pierce led the Valiants with four draw controls.

Up Next
The Valiants play the first of three-straight home games on Tuesday night, hosting Mount Saint Vincent at 6 p.m.

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