MADISON, N.J. – FDU-Florham made the Manhattanville women's lacrosse team's Middle Atlantic Conference Tournament debut a tough one, as the third-seeded Devils handed the sixth-seeded Valiants a 21-6 defeat in the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday evening.

Sophomore Lindsey Parent led all scorers with six goals and eight points for the Devils, with five of her goals and both of her assists coming in the first half. Senior Amanda Wayne added four goals and an assist for the home team, while junior Linda Bohn placed second among all players with six points on three goals and a game-high three assists.

For Manhattanville, senior tri-captain Katie Bertel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Jen Ascencio (Monroe, N.Y.) each recorded two goals in a losing effort. Sophomore Cassie Kovac (Saugerties, N.Y.) and junior Callie Housser (Leominster, Mass.) also scored once each for the visitors.

The game was won by FDU-Florham in the first half, as the Devils outshot Manhattanville by a 26-12 margin and outscored the Valiants, 15-4, over the first 30 minutes of play. Sophomore Kirstin Betsill (Parkton, Md.) made nine first-half saves and 10 overall for the Valiants, while three FDU netminders combined for eight saves.

The game began promisingly for Manhattanville, as the team countered a Parent goal with two goals in 11 seconds by Kovac and Bertel to take a 2-1 lead 4:49 into the first half. The score remained that way for nearly five minutes, before Bohn took a pass from Parent and beat Betsill to knot the score at two 9:28 into the game.

Bohn's score began a game-changing 13-0 run in favor of the Devils, who took full control of the game with five goals in a span of 2:24 beginning with Bohn's tally. FDU-Florham outshot Manhattanville 19-6 during the run, which was ended by Housser's third goal of the season with 1:41 remaining in the first half. Bertel sent the Valiants into halftime with her second of the game, coming on a free-position attempt with four seconds left in the frame.

The game was much more evenly played in the second half, as each team took seven shots, but the Valiants could get no closer than 13 goals on Ascencio's first of the game 4:25 into the second half.

With the loss, Manhattanville (11-6, 6-5 MAC) concludes the most successful season in program history, as the Valiants earned a program-record 11 wins and set a new program standard with 234 goals. FDU-Florham (13-4, 9-2 MAC) advances to the MAC Semifinals against second-seeded Messiah College on Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

2009-04-28