RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's lacrosse team earned its first conference win of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Mount Saint Vincent 13-7 on the road. The Valiants improve to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in the Skyline Conference following the toppling of the Dolphins.
After an evenly-matched first quarter, Manhattanville pulled away with four unanswered goals in the second before outscoring Mount Saint Vincent 6-4 over the second half.
Kaci Pierce (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) snapped a two-game scoring drought with a team-high four goals to fuel Manhattanville's attack. The junior added a pair of assists to match her season-high points total of six.
Sydney Natale (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) logged her second-consecutive hat trick, scoring three times and dishing out an assist in the win.
Katherine Stahl (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) and
Pietra Cabral (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) added two tallies each, while
Ashley Glass (Mahopac, N.Y./Lakeland) and Mariah Stevens found the netting once.
Megan McDonald (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) was solid in the crease, making seven saves while holding the Dolphins to seven goals to earn her third collegiate win. Over her first nine starts, McDonald holds a 13.33 goals against average with 88 saves.
Stephens picked up her second goal of the year from Pierce alongside Natale's first of the afternoon to spot Manhattanville a quick 2-0 lead in the opening 2:40. Mount Saint Vincent capitalized on Valiant penalties as Macey Forg and Isabelle Gurley scored woman-up goals to tie the game with 2:17 left in the opening quarter. Forg put the Dolphins ahead with her second of the period just 25 seconds after Gurley's strike, but Pierce was able to make it a 3-3 game with her first of the day in the closing seconds of the quarter.
The Valiants shored up defensively and avoided drawing cards in the second quarter, allowing the visiting team to take over before halftime. The Dolphins were charged a yellow card at the end of the first, giving Manhattanville a numbers advantage to begin the new quarter. Pierce capitalized with a woman-up goal from Natale to take a lead Manhattanville never relinquished. Glass scored from Stahl a minute later, while Natale and Stahl both scored unassisted to close out the half with Manhattanville up 7-3.
Manhattanville extended the run to seven-straight goals as Pierce scored off
Elsa Haakonsen's (Trumbull, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) pass before Cabral finished off a Glass feed to make it a 9-3 game with under five minutes to go in the third. Ella Meberg got the home team's first goal in more than 26 minutes of game time before Stahl closed out the period with her second from Pierce in the final minute.
Fourth quarter strikes by Cabral, Natale and Pierce closed out the day with a six-goal win for Manhattanville, improving to 5-1 in the last six meetings against their Skyline rival.
McDonald collected a team-high five ground balls protecting the Valiant net, followed by four from Stahl and three by Natale and
Mia Camey (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays). Natale also caused four Dolphin turnovers to lead the defensive effort, while Stephens earned a team-high five draw controls.
Up Next
Manhattanville is back in action on Saturday to host Purchase for Senior Day at noon.
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