THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – Marking their return to the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament for the first time since 2023, the Manhattanville University women's lacrosse team kicks off the postseason on Monday night as the sixth-seeded Valiants make the trek to Throggs Neck to take on No. 3 Maritime in the tournament's first round.
Women's Lacrosse Preview: No. 6 Manhattanville University at No. 3 Maritime College | Skyline Conference Championship First Round | Monday, 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Video
How We Got Here
After missing the postseason a year ago, the Valiants were able to do just enough in conference action to snag the final berth in the 2025 Skyline Championship. Manhattanville went 3-5 against the Skyline in the regular season, a one-win improvement on the team's 2024 conference mark. The one win was crucial, as just one game separated the Valiants from seventh-place Mount Saint Vincent for the six-seed. Manhattanville's 13-7 triumph over the Dolphins on Apr. 5 loomed ever large as the season played out, serving as the ultimate difference maker between the two teams and allowing the Valiants to return to the postseason.
The Valiants also bested Purchase and Old Westbury in conference play to round out their Skyline victories. After winning back-to-back games against the dual Panther squads, Manhattanville has been on the short end of three-straight to close out the regular season with losses to Saint Joseph's Long Island, Mount Saint Mary and Maritime, being outscored 52-29 in the contests.
Manhattanville's attack has been piloted by a pair of 40-point campaigns from
Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) and
Kaci Pierce (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme). The junior tandem both enter the postseason with career-high goal totals, with Cabral scoring 38 times with eight assists while Pierce has found the netting 30 times, adding ten assists. Freshman
Ashley Glass (Mahopac, N.Y./Lakeland) has had a solid rookie season, third on the team in scoring with 29 points (20 goals, nine assists). Glass' classmate
Megan McDonald (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) has played every minute in the Valiant goal, holding a 12.65 goals-against average with 118 saves on the year.
Opposing the Valiants is a Maritime team riding a three-game winning streak. The Privateers' success has run through Gabrielle Nicolosi whose 114 points ranks fourth in the nation. Nicolosi is third in the Skyline with 55 goals and is the conference leader in assists with 59. In addition to the second-highest scoring offense in the Skyline, Maritime also holds the second-best scoring defense, allowing just 10 goals per game.
Last Time Out
The Valiants and Privateers closed out the regular season facing off against each other on Friday, a 17-10 Maritime win in Purchase. It was the leading playmakers on display for both sides as Nicolosi scored five goals and handed out five assists to lead Maritime while Cabral had a four-point night on three goals and an assist.
Tournament History
Monday will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the two programs. The Valiants will be playing in their fifth Skyline Conference Championship Tournament game since 2021, going 1-3 in the previous postseason games. Maritime, meanwhile, has made a run to the Skyline Championship finals in each of the last two years.
Team Leaders
Manhattanville
- Points: Cabral (46), Pierce (40), Glass (29)
- Goals: Cabral (38), Pierce (30), Glass (20)
- Assists: Stahl (11), Pierce (10), Glass (9)
- Ground Balls: McDonald (34), Stephens (33), Stahl (32)
- Caused Turnovers: Stephens (23), Mazo (15), Flaherty (13)
- Draw Controls: Stephens (48), O'Mara (34), Pierce (32)
- Goals-Against Average: McDonald (12.65)
Maritime
- Points: Nicolosi (114), Tracy (61), Garcia (31)
- Goals: Nicolosi (55), Tracy (47), Garcia (24)
- Assists: Nicolosi (59), Tracy (14), Grider (14)
- Ground Balls: Ford (44), Koenig (35), Cirelli (34)
- Caused Turnovers: Ford (28), Tracy (25), DiToma (21)
- Draw Controls: Tracy (107), Ford (44), Cirelli (39)
- Goals-Against Average: Koenig (10.04)
History
- All-Time Record vs Maritime: 1-5
- Streak: L5
- Series Record at Maritime: 0-2
- Last Five Meetings (Home team listed second):
- 4/25/25: Maritime 17, Manhattanville 10
- 3/29/24: Manhattanville 5, Maritime 16
- 4/4/23: Maritime 15, Manhattanville 6
- 4/8/22: Manhattanville 9, Maritime 12
- 4/6/21: Maritime 14, Manhattanville 11
