PURCHASE, N.Y. – A date and venue change did little to hinder the Manhattanville University women's lacrosse team on a rain-soaked Thursday night as the Valiants defeated Purchase College by a final of 17-7. The win gets the Vals into the conference win column, improving to 1-2 against the Skyline this season, while moving to 4-7 overall.

Both teams dedicated the game in support of the One Love Foundation in support of ending relationship abuse.

The Valiants scored 12 goals in the first half, fueled by a 6-0 opening quarter. Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) logged a hat trick in the first 15 minutes, accounting for the first two tallies of the night from Gianna Mott (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) and Colleen MacNeil (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) through the first four minutes. The score held steady at 2-0 until the Valiants netted four goals over the final 4:10 of the frame. After MacNeil scored her first of a three-goal evening, Megan DeBellis took advantage of a Purchase penalty to score a player-up goal by way of Catrina Chinetti (Hyde Park, Mass./Boston Latin Academy). Mott put away her first of the night with 1:31 remaining before Cabral completed her first quarter hatty, scoring with 26 seconds left on the clock to put the Valiants up 6-0.

Purchase got on the board 18 seconds into the second quarter off a Julieth Velasquez goal. The Valiants responded with the next four goals over the course of the ensuing three minutes. DeBellis opened up the run with her second of the game with 13:26 left in the half before assisting on Cabral's fourth goal just 13 seconds later. MacNeil then provided the next two strikes, first scoring unassisted then burying home a pass from Sydney Natale (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich). Velasquez accounted for the Panthers' second goal of the night before a Natale tally and Sarah Knowles' (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) first-career goal put Manhattanville up by ten with 3:05 left in the half. Alyssa Kozak was able to stop the running clock by pulling the Panthers back within single digits in the final minute on a player-up tally, moving the score at the half to 12-3.

Manhattanville scored all three goals in the third quarter to reestablish running clock and cruise to the victory. Natale and Erin Flaherty (Rockland, Mass./Canterbury School) each scored a goal in the opening 2:40 of the half off assists from MacNeil. Chinetti went on to notch her first of the season on a player-up free position goal with nine minutes left in the third, with Manhattanville carrying the 15-3 lead through the remainder of the quarter.

Lauren Sergeant (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) scored 48 seconds into the fourth to extend the Valiant lead up to a game-high 13. The Panthers added the next three goals, all from Alyssa Kozak, to pull back within 10 with 8:36 left in regulation. The Valiants got their final score of the night with 7:09 left on the clock as Mott scored her second of the contest from an assist by MacNeil, capping off her seven-point performance. Kozak delivered the final strike with her fifth goal of the affair, assisted by Velasquez, moving the final score to 17-7.

Jacee Russello (Hope Valley, R.I./North Kingstown Senior) and Paz Hassan-Contreras (Lansing, Mich./Okemos) both played a half in net. Russello got the win by playing the opening 30 minutes, while Hassan-Contreras recorded the lone Valiant save of the evening in the second half.

In addition to her seven points offensively, MacNeil also led the team defensively with nine ground balls, seven caused turnovers and 12 draw controls. The senior captain leads the conference with 8.91 draw controls per game, while her 4.82 ground balls and 3.09 caused turnovers per contest are both the second-most in the Skyline.

Chinetti collected four ground balls while causing a pair of turnovers and collecting one draw control. MacKenzie Orf (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Lakeland) added three grounders of her own, while Flaherty and Jocelyn Mazo (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) both forced a pair of Panther giveaways.

Up Next
The Valiants head to Old Westbury on Saturday for a Skyline tilt with the Panthers at 1 p.m.

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