Edwardsville- Sophomore forward Marissa Surdy (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) and freshman back Haley Gayoski (Forty Fort, PA/Wyoming Valley West) scored one goal each to lead the Wilkes University field hockey team to a Freedom Conference-opening 2-0 win against Manhattanville at Schmidt Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Colonels improved to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in Freedom play while the Valiants fell to 5-5 overall and 0-1 in Freedom play.

Wilkes scored both goals in the first half. In the 25^th minute, the Lady Colonels were awarded a penalty corner to be taken by junior midfielder Maura Anistranski (Forty Fort, PA/Wyoming Valley West). Anistranski passed it to the top of the circle where Surdy settled the pass and shot a rocket past the Valiants goalkeeper to give Wilkes the lead.

The Lady Colonels were awarded another penalty corner as time expired in the first half, with Anistranski passing it to Gayoski at the top left of the circle, allowing Gayoski to shoot it into the lower left side of the net and give Wilkes the final score of the game.

The Lady Colonels outshot Manhattanville 19-4 with 16 of the Wilkes shots hitting the net compared to 2 for the Valiants. The Lady Colonels also held a 15-10 advantage in penalty corners.

Wilkes freshman goalkeeper Dallas Kendra (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) made two saves in her first collegiate shutout.

The Lady Colonels return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Immaculata University for a 4 p.m. non-conference match, and will return home on Saturday October 3^rd when they host DeSales University in a 5 p.m. Freedom Conference match during homecoming weekend.