Box Score
RIVERDALE, NY – In a back-and-forth contest at Gaelic Park, the Manhattan College women's lacrosse team (0-4) came up on the short end of a 16-12 decision against Lafayette (5-2) on Wednesday. Sarah Lang (Golden's Bridge, NY) had four goals for the Jaspers, while Molly Fitzpatrick (Yorktown, NY) tallied five points with three goals and two assists.
After Lafayette jumped out to a 5-1 lead, Kara Hodapp (Oak Ridge, NJ) scored to start a 5-0 Manhattan rally, and a goal by Caitlin Murphy (Carmel, NY) put the Jaspers in front 6-5 with 3:43 left in the first half. Nikki Prestiano (Yorktown Heights, NY) made a brilliant save on a free position attempt late in the period, but the Leopards got one past Prestiano with just 12 seconds remaining in the half to even the score at 6-6.
The Jaspers regained the lead on Darby Nolan's (Oak Ridge, NJ) goal two minutes into the second half, and she then assisted on Hodapp's tally that made it 8-6. However, Lafayette responded with five straight goals to go up 11-8 at the 14:58 mark.
Goals by Lang and Nolan brought Manhattan back within one at 11-10, but the Leopards countered with another 5-0 spurt to increase their cushion to 16-10 at the 2:06 mark. Emily Englert (Somers, NY) found the back of the net off a Fitzpatrick pass with 1:32 left, then Lang's fourth tally of the game 30 seconds later brought the Jaspers within 16-12. Lafayette won the ensuing draw, though, allowing the Leopards to run out the remaining 1:02 on the clock and secure the win.
Hodapp and Nolan each had two goals and two assists in the contest, while Murphy recorded a goal and an assist. Molly Flores (Chevy Chase, MD) controlled four draws, and Hailey Siemek (Bel Air, MD) picked up a team-best three ground balls. Prestiano (0-4) faced 36 Lafayette shots and made 13 saves.
Kirsten Wilhelmsen tallied six goals and two assists for the Leopards. She also contributed four draw controls. Emma Novick finished with three goals and an assist, and Jane Kirby had a hat trick, as well. Kristin Schaen controlled seven draws, as Lafayette held a 17-13 advantage in that category. The Leopards also collected 20 ground balls to the Jaspers' 15, with Matty Novick and Hannah Davey each recording three ground balls. Starting goalkeeper Anna Raymond made five saves, while Allie Abacherli (3-2) earned the win after stopping three Manhattan shots.
Manhattan returns to action on Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup against Saint Mary's (1-3) at Gaelic Park. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Jaspers and Gaels.