PURCHASE, N.Y. – FDU-Florham jumped out to a 14-4 halftime lead and held off a hard-charging Manhattanville team in the second half as the Devils spoiled the Valiants' Senior Night festivities with a 17-12 win in a Middle Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse victory on a very rainy Wednesday evening at GoValiants.com Field.

Despite the loss, Manhattanville (10-5, 5-5 MAC) still clinched its first-ever berth in the Middle Atlantic Conference Tournament thanks to Wilkes University's 22-8 loss at Lycoming College earlier in the day. As a result, the Valiants will have a return engagement with FDU-Florham (11-4, 8-2 MAC) in the first round of the MAC Tournament on Tuesday, April 28 in Madison, N.J. (Time TBA).

Each team had two players record a game-high four goals, as senior tri-captain Katie Bertel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Jen Ascencio (Monroe, N.Y.) netted four each for the Valiants, while seniors Laura Gambardello and Amanda Wayne had four apiece for the visitors.

Wednesday's game was a tale of two halves, but unfortunately for Manhattanville its second-half comeback ran out of time. FDU-Florham used a 25-12 shot advantage in the first half to jump out to a 14-4 halftime lead, as the Devils scored the first five goals of the game to take a lead they would never relinquish.

The Valiants did not go away despite the early deficit, as the home team scored four of the next five goals to get within two at 6-4 with 10:09 left in the first half. However, FDU-Florham scored the half's final nine goals to take a big lead into intermission. Wayne singlehandedly broke away from Manhattanville with the first three goals of the run all in just over a minute, and Gambardello capped the run with her second of the game as time expired in the first half.

Things looked bleak for Manhattanville after Gambardello scored 49 seconds into the second frame, but the Valiants did not give up. The home team held a 13-11 edge in shots on goal in the final 30 minutes and outscored FDU-Florham, 8-3, over that span, but simply ran out of time.

The Valiants made excellent use of the eight-meter line in the second half, as six of the team's eight second-half scores came on free-position attempts. The team went 6 for 9 from the line in the second half after going just 0 for 2 in the first 30 minutes, including a perfect 3 for 3 mark from Ascencio and Bertel's two eight-meter tallies.

After a goal by freshman Breana Kilpatrick gave FDU-Florham a 17-7 lead with 9:08 left, Manhattanville held the Devils to just two shots on goal the rest of the way to close the gap. The Valiants, meanwhile, scored on five of their final six shots – including four free-position attempts – to lessen the final margin.

Sophomore Kirstin Betsill (Parkton, Md.) made 12 saves – six in each half – to keep the Valiants close. Senior Christine Dunn got the start for FDU-Florham and allowed six goals on 14 shots before giving way to sophomore Kelly Butler, who made only one save on seven shots in the final 21:17.

Manhattanville will look to conclude the regular season on the right foot on Saturday, when the team takes on MAC foe Arcadia University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Glenside, Pa.

2009-04-23