PURCHASE, N.Y. – Elizabethtown College senior Katie Foley led all players with 10 goals to lead the Blue Jays past Manhattanville, 20-11, in a Middle Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse matchup on Saturday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.

Foley was the star of the match for Elizabethtown, scoring 10 times on 12 shots while also leading all players with five ground balls. She netted five of the team's nine goals in the second half, helping to put away the persistent Valiant squad.

For Manhattanville, senior tri-captain Abbe Grimes (Hamden, Conn.) and sophomore Cassie Kovac (Saugerties, N.Y.) each scored three goals to lead the team, while senior tri-captain Katie Bertel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added two goals and an assist to tie for the team lead in points with three.

The Blue Jays recorded a 40-26 advantage in total shots (27-18 on goal) on the afternoon and also collected 27 ground balls to the Valiants' 20. Manhattanville had trouble with turnovers against one of the top teams in the MAC, turning the ball over 23 times, 13 of which were forced by the opponents.

After more than four scoreless minutes to begin the game, senior Kelsea Kozak started the scoring with 4:17 gone by in the first half, and the Blue Jays scored the next two goals of the game before Kovac notched a free-position tally at the 8:23 mark to put the Valiants on the board.

Elizabethtown ran off six of the next eight goals to take a 9-3 lead before goals by Grimes and Kovac cut the lead to 9-5 with 4:01 left in the first half. Grimes' score was on an eight-meter attempt, as the Valiants' first four goals and five of their first six came from the eight-meter line.

Foley scored her fifth of the game to give her team an 11-5 lead with 26 seconds left, but Manhattanville stunned the visitors with two goals in the final 11 seconds to take some momentum into halftime. Bertel connected on a free-position shot with 11 seconds remaining, and after a Blue Jay foul on the ensuing draw control she found Kovac, who drove hard to the net and scored on a neat backhanded flip with less than two seconds on the clock.

A pair of Grimes tallies early in the second half brought Manhattanville to within three at 12-9 with 21:21 left on the clock, but Elizabethtown established control on both the offensive defensive ends, keeping the Valiants off the board for over 20 minutes and scoring eight straight goals to take a 20-9 lead. Foley recorded all five of her second-half tallies during the crucial stretch.

The Valiants cut into the lead in the final minutes thanks to goals by sophomore Darby Webber (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomore Emelda Ogweta (Portland, Maine), but the Blue Jays were able to leave with the victory.

Sophomore Kirstin Betsill (Parkton, Md.) made seven saves on 27 shots in goal for Manhattanville, while senior Jenn Hawkins allowed nine goals on 15 shots in 52 minutes of action to earn the win for Elizabethtown.

Manhattanville (5-2, 2-2 MAC) will take to the road for the next three games, beginning on Monday at 4:00 p.m. against SUNY New Paltz. Elizabethtown (8-2, 4-0 MAC) travels to Arcadia University on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

2009-03-28