PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's lacrosse team concluded the 2026 regular season on Wednesday night, dropping a 16-4 decision to the United States Merchant Marine Academy. The loss brings the Valiants' final record on the regular season to 7-8 overall and 4-4 in Skyline Conference play, officially locking in the No. 5 seed for the conference championship tournament beginning on Saturday.
It was a red-hot start for Manhattanville as
Kathleen O'Mara (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) scored just 11 seconds into the game as fans were still making their way to the bleachers, but a string of five-straight goals by the Mariners put USMMA in the driver's seat the rest of the way home, capping off a perfect 8-0 Skyline season and securing the conference's top seed.
Kaci Pierce (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) brought an end to Merchant Marine's scoring run with 3:41 left in the period, but the guests added one more goal from Sarah Litz with 90 seconds remaining, her first of five on the night, to give the Mariners a 6-2 lead at the end of one.
After scoring all four goals of the second to take a 10-2 lead into half, USMMA continued rolling with a goal 53 seconds into the third to make it six-straight Mariner goals. O'Mara netted her second of the game halfway through the quarter before the Mariners tacked on three more to go up 14-3 with 15 minutes left to play.
O'Mara completed the hat trick with 5:10 remaining in regulation, while Litz and Reese Ripley each added a strike to close out the 16-4 win for USMMA.
Mary Kopf (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown High School North) suffered the loss in Manhattanville's cage, playing 52 minutes. The freshman made a season-high 15 saves in the effort.
Megan McDonald (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) played the remaining eight minutes, surrendering one goal.
Jocelyn Mazo (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) was one of Manhattanville's leading playmakers on the night, finishing with three ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw controls. Her grounder total trailed only Kopf's four in the Valiant net, while she was joined by
Molly Sances (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial),
Erin Flaherty (Rockland, Mass./Canterbury School) and
Jacee Russello (Hope Valley, R.I./North Kingstown Senior) with the pair of forced turnovers. O'Mara led the Valiants on the draw with four controls.
Up Next
The Valiants will be on the road Saturday for the first round of the 2026 Skyline Conference Championship Tournament. Manhattanville will take on the No. 4 seed, with more information available later this week.
VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants
