Riverdale, NY - The College of Mount Saint Vincent women's lacrosse team started off conference play against the Manhattanville College Valiants, playing a very well rounded game against one of the top teams in the Skyline Conference, but eventually falling short by a score of 15-12. Despite the loss, the growth of the team under first-year head coach Meaghan Smith was apparent, signaling the bright future ahead of the program. 

The Dolphins got off to a hot start, scoring five goals in the first period to go up 5-1 early. The Valiants would respond three goals of their own towards the end of the period, but the Dolphins still led 5-4 after the completion of the first period. The Dolphins continued their strong offensive performance into the second period, scoring another five goals and leading by a score of 10-9 at the halfway point of the contest.

A big part of the scoring for the Dolphins today was sophomore midfielder Alicia Rodriguez, who had four goals and one assist. Right behind Rodriguez was junior midfielder Alyssa LaTorre, who added three goals on the day to help propel the Dolphins offense to 12 total goals.

The Dolphins only scored two goals in the second half, but still managed to keep the game close thanks to a really good defensive performance from the Dolphins, led by senior captain Kaitlyn Cronin. Another big reason behind the defense's performance was junior goalkeeper Katherine Hungerford, who saved 11 shots, the second best save total of the season. The Dolphins' efforts were captured througout the game, but eventually fell due to a strong performance by thr Valiants offense in the second half.

The fantastic performance bodes well for a CMSV team that is now fully entrenched in conference play. The Dolphins next game is another conference game on Tuesday, this time against The Mount Saint Mary College Knights, as they look to tally their first conference win of the season and improve their overall record to 2-6.